A Zekrom for Iris
It will take me a little longer to write new content, I hope at least it's worth the wait.
I guess this story is going to have four chapters again, so it's going to end soon, but I already got some new ideas, and those storys are going to be longer. What I'm writing right now isn't supposed to be long. When I first started, I planned to publish it as a Oneshot, but I think it's better of this way. So please enjoy it, even though it's not as detailed as others would write it.
I don't own the characters, places or pokemon itself, and I have no intention to make money with this story in any way.
Chapter 3: The meaning of winning
Once again, Hugh climbed the stairs leading to Iris' chamber. There had been no need to train Zekrom, it was on the highest level he'd ever seen a Pokemon on already. The Elite Four had been no challenge for its excessive power. Now, Hugh wanted to initiate the second phase of his plan: He had to defeat the champ.
"There you are again.", Iris cheered. "I've been looking forward to fighting you another time." Was she finally remembering him? No, that didn't make sense, why would she suddenly recognize him? It had to be about battling. Well, then it was a battle she would get.
"Come out, Hydreigon!", the champ shouted in anticipation.
"This is the moment we've been waiting for, Zekrom!", Hugh introduced his Pokemon.
Iris' eyes widened as she saw the legendary Pokemon. She stared at it in awe. "Wow, how did you capture it?", the girl wondered admiring.
"I'd love to tell you that story when we're done here.", the challenger announced.
An irritated roar of Hydreigon reminded her that the impressive dragon was her opponent, and so she quickly snapped out of her distraction and ordered her Pokemon to use Dragon Pulse. Hugh starts to daze of again, but Zekrom makes it look like it understands its trainer without words, dodges the attack and counters with Dragon Claw, which immediately knocks the other dragon out.
Iris gasped at the sight of her Pokemon falling to the ground unconscious. She had to realize that the legend earned its title. It was even stronger than it looked, and that means a lot! "Okay, return.", she called her Pokemon back and took out another ball. "Come on, Aggron, you can do it!"
Now, Hugh grew more confident and concentrated. "The first move is yours.", he offered gently.
"Aggron, use Earthquake.", the champ ordered. Her Pokemon did so, but her opponent gave his Pokemon a signal, and Zekrom lifted off the ground, evading the attack. Now, the dragon type attacked with Rock Smash, hitting the opposing giant hard before Iris could tell him to avoid it. But her Pokemon still kept on fighting. And it was in a perfect position to strike now. "Beat it with Head Smash.", the girl instructed, and Aggron attacked, bashing its head against Zekrom who hit it with another Rock Smash at the same time. The legendary dragon endured. The iron colossus didn't.
The battle went on, and Zekrom defeated its remaining opponents with its electric and dragon type assaults trouble-free. At the last Outrage, even her precious Haxorus fainted. Iris sighed. He had just beaten her with just one Pokemon. He was definitely strong. Or was it just Zekrom's power that overwhelmed her? No, a Pokemon and its trainer need to have the perfect connection to unleash such a strength – invincible strength!
"Well then, we may perpetuate your name in the Hall of Fame.", Iris suggested, suppressing her feelings of disappointment about not being able to keep up with the mighty legend.
"Yeah, that's what I came for.", Hugh whispered to himself statistically.
So they went through the whole procedure, saying nothing more than the formal phrases traditionally spoken at this point. It was when they went down the stairs together, preparing for the mass of reporters already expecting them at the entrance, that Hugh finally found the courage to ask her the question that had burned on his lips the entire time.
"So, now that the crowd of newshounds will separate us soon, would you... like to...", at this point, the new champ stuttered, and then quickly pressed out the rest of the sentence. "... meet me at the dance evening in the Dreamyard on Friday?" Suddenly, it felt rushed to him. Nothing had ever felt rushed to him before! He just hated waiting, and wanted to be done with serious matters as fast as possible. But this... He watched Iris' reaction very carefully.
She was surprised. She had read his letter before, but she hadn't expected him to actually mean it this way. "Did you just asked me out?", she examined unsure. What should she say...
"Yeah, my friend Nate invited me to bring a date, so I thought that it would be a good opportunity to...", the young man didn't end the sentence. He didn't know how. Abruptly, he felt awkward.
As he spoke these words, the girl showed a surprised face. Just for a diminutive fraction of a second, he thought he saw something else in her expression, but she hid it before he had a chance to interpret. Then, her countenance turned to an apologetic pout.
"Sorry, I have to work on Friday.", she excused herself. "There are so many challengers currently, you know."
"Of course, I'm sorry I bothered you.", Hugh apologized. Now it was on him to hide the disappointment, so he hurried to the exit to confront the reporters before she could say another word.
In the interim, Nate led his girlfriend to a free table in the restaurant of Cilan, Chili and Cress in Striaton City.
"Are you planning to invite me to every restaurant in Unova?", Rosa asked as she sat down, showing an amused expression when he put on that smile that made her heart melt whenever he looked at her with it.
"I need an excuse for dragging you all over Unova with me.", he laughed. The model had to chuckle.
Cilan came towards them, gently greeted the famous visitors and took their order. As they waited for their meal to arrive, Chili took a chair and pestered between them. "Hey, I told my brothers you'd show up. Are you here for the dance evening tomorrow?"
The couple decided that it was best not to disapprove him for the rude interruption and nodded friendly.
"Rumors say that even the champ will show up, together with this guy with blue spiky hair who helped to defeat Team Plasma.", the former gym leader chattered.
"Where does this rumor come from?", Nate inquired. Cress brought them the ordered tea and left without a work, not without shooting his brother a look of disapprove for chatting with the guests instead of working, but the redhead seemed not to notice it.
"I think he vanquished her yesterday, and some of the reporters waiting to interview them stated they heard how he asked her out on a date.", Chili explained. "I think they just had too much fantasy, maybe they had to wait for a satisfying story for to long.", he added.
Rosa tried to suppress a laugh. "Yeah, why would the champ go on a date with him?", she joked.
"Well, he actually captured the legendary Zekrom.", Chili pondered.
"Let's hope we'll see the two of them tomorrow!", the young man stated. "Are you three coming as well?"
"Wait a moment.", the redhead requested. He stood up and walked towards a table near the entrance, where a woman at his age sat alone. About a minute later, he returned with a smile on his face. "I just got a date."
"Who is she?", the model wanted to know.
"Her name's Athena, and I met her for the first time just now.", Chili reported amused.
Nate knew it was better to move on with the original topic before his girlfriend could entangle herself in that answer. "And what about your brothers?", he asked again.
"Cilan will actually be Fennel's date, and Cress is going to stay here to take care of the restaurant.", the former gym leader finally answered. "I honestly wonder why Cress won't search for a date, his chances are quite high..."
"Will you stop molesting our guests and get back to work now?", Cress jumped in with an angered voice. "Your date is still waiting for her tea!"
Chili blushed and quickly said goodbye to his diners. When he left, Rosa ultimately turned to her boyfriend. "Do you think Hugh really got a date?", she questioned.
"I'm not sure.", Nate said honestly. "He's got a talent for going into action too rash. That might turn out to be a handicap now." He remembered Iris' strange acting after he defeated her, but quickly pushed the thought aside. "But maybe the reporters are right. Of course, I hope for the best..."
