Whoa, what's happening?!" Rosa gasped. Both Pokemon that Nate and Iris were training with, Vibrava and Axew, were starting to evolve as they glowed with white energy. Before, Vibrava was like a yellow and green colored dragonfly, but the ground/dragon type grew to now be standing on two hind legs instead of four while the front legs became arms. The spikes on its head became swept back and its tail grew longer while having three flaps at the end. Its wings became bigger as well to handle the new body. Where the Pokemon now stood is Nate's Flygon, light green with rhombus shaped wings and red protective layering over the eyes. Axew admittedly hasn't changed that much aside from growing height and girth, but the olive green armor plating around his upper body was growing thicker and the tail growing longer. By the time he was done evolving, he said,
"Fraxure!"
"Oh my goodness, you've evolved!" Iris hugged her shiny black dragon, whom chuckled from the praise. Nate smiled before being nuzzled by his new Flygon.
"Hey buddy, nice to see that you've evolved too." Rosa walked up to him.
"Well, I'd say with that you're just about ready to face Elesa. There's just one more thing."
"Yes?" She handed Nate a stone.
"Give that to Growlithe. It's about time he becomes the Legendary Pokemon he deserves." Realizing he now held a fire stone, the trainer nodded as he brought out his Puppy Pokemon. He barked happily a few times.
"Hey Growlithe. You see this stone?" He presented it to the fire type. "Go get it." Throwing it a small distance away, Growlithe yelped before going and picking up the rock with his mouth. The stone began to glow and along with him, causing the canine to grow from a small dog to as big as a horse, and showed once the evolution was done that Growlithe evolved into an Arcanine. He howled with a kind of fresh energy one would expect when a Pokemon evolves. Arcanine then pounced towards Nate and started licking him, causing the boy to laugh. "Okay, okay! I'm glad to see you're happy with this!" The two girls laughed and even Hugh chuckled with a smile. Nate ruffled the hair around his fire type's face. "Alright, let's go win this thing."
They were back inside the gym, where Nate was facing off against the electric type gym leader, Elesa.
"Come on Nate, I believe you can beat her!" Iris cheered.
"Yeah, show her what a week's worth of training under me looks like!" Rosa added while pumping her fists. Hugh didn't say anything as he had his arms crossed.
"So you have trained under Rosa's tutilage?" Elesa inquired, the slightest hint of intrigue in her voice.
"Yep, along with Hugh and Iris. So you know..." Nate flashed a pokeball at her. "...the person that will beat you today is Nate Wayland!" Elesa closed her eyes, and gave the tiniest smile.
"We shall see."
"The gym battle between Elesa Parker and Nate Wayland is about to begin! Each trainer will use six Pokemon, and the match is over when all Pokemon on one side are defeated. Only the challenger may switch Pokemon! Let the battle begin!"
"Emolga, go." Elesa summoned her first Pokemon.
"Flygon, let's go!" Seeing the flying green dragon that was wearing a life orb, she only responded,
"At least this ground type can fly. That's new for a change. Acrobatics."
"Dodge and counter with Rock Slide!" Despite moving fast enough to leave afterimages, Flygon was able to evade the flying squirrel's attacks, and cried out as the air above them rippled. Rocks started to fall out of them, and while they both could evade the raining rocks, Flygon was capable of flying Emolga into a trap, and had the Sky Squirrel Pokemon be buried under rocks, crying out in pain as she fell. Upon crashing into the bottom, the electric/flying type was out.
"Emolga is unable to battle! The winner is Flygon!"
"Emolga, return. Jolteon, use Hidden Power." Letting out her Lightning Pokemon, the electric canine formed ice blue orbs around herself before firing them at the flying dragon.
"Counter with Flamethrower!" Creating flame inside her mouth, she expelled a stream of fire which didn't overpower the Hidden Power, but did at least stop it can caused an explosion as a result.
"Flygon, return. Thanks, you did a good job so far. Arcanine, let's go!" His Legendary Pokemon came out, a red and cream colored dog with black stripes. He wore another Life Orb too around his neck.
"Thunderbolt." Generating the electrical power, Jolteon fired the attack which seriously shocked the fire canine as he howled in pain.
"Bulldoze!" Raising his front legs up, the Legendary Pokemon slammed them down to send shock waves across the ground, which even for a Pokemon as fast as the Lightning Pokemon had trouble dodging as she was caught up in the attack and pushed back. Grunting from the tumbling, Jolteon had fainted in one move again.
"Jolteon is unable to battle! The winner is Arcanine!"
"Jolteon, return. Raichu, go." Once her evolved Mouse Pokemon was on the field she ordered, "Use Thunderbolt."
"Raaaiichuuuuuuu!" She yelled as she made her attack.
"Bulldoze, again!" Slamming his paws into the ground, he sent another shock wave before being blasted with more electricity and howled in agony before falling. Raichu in turn was hit by the bulldoze and rolled several times across her back, but was able to get up while struggling.
"Arcanine is unable to battle! The winner is Raichu!"
"Hmph, so he's finally down one Pokemon." Hugh commented.
"Yeah, but Elesa already lost two Pokemon and her Raichu has been hit with a super effective move! This is so exciting!" Iris remarked. "Come on Nate, you can win this!" Rosa nodded in agreement with a smile. Nate smiled from their comments and returned his Pokemon.
"Thanks buddy. Take a good rest. Flygon, let's go!" Bringing his Mystic Pokemon back onto the field, Elesa ordered,
"Hidden Power."
"Flamethrower, again!" It was another clash of fire against ice, resulting in a similar explosion, but this time Nate followed it up with, "Now use Giga Drain!" Her wings glowed neon green as she fired lasers from them that drained the poor electric type's remaining health, recovering some from the draining effects of the life orb around her neck as they spoke. Drained, Raichu moaned as she fell onto her back.
"Raichu is unable to battle! The winner is Flygon!"
"Zebstrika, go." Upon recognizing the electric zebra, he grinned.
"Flygon, return. Sigilyph, let's go!" His friends were confused with this choice, for even though they knew what his Sigilyph was capable of, it was still at a type disadvantage. Although to Elesa's surprise, Sigilyph is wearing a flame orb, and thus combusted, an odd noise coming from the Pokemon.
"Hmm, I wonder what you're planning. Zebstrika, Wild Charge." Generating a massive amount of electricity, the Thunderbolt Pokemon charged like its species sake, but that wasn't good enough.
"Dodge and use Psycho Shift!" Glowing pink, Sigilyph hummed as the galloping Zebstrika glowed pink, looking confused before being engulfed in flame, neighing in painful shock. Elesa looked somewhat surprised. "Yeah, Psycho Shift makes the Pokemon its facing feel the same status ailment Sigilyph suffers. Pretty great against physical threats." Both Pokemon then suffered a burn. The gym leader lightly smiled.
"Clever, but she doesn't have nothing but nothing but physical attacks. Thunderbolt."
"Counter with Ice Beam!" Forming a zigzagging line of icy energy, the two attacks pushed against each other, and would've resulted in another explosion, but thanks to the training and calcium, the ice attack was overwhelming the Thunderbolt, and thus pushed the electricity back towards Zebstrika, and that was when the explosion happened, the Pokemon yelping from the critical damage she got. Dropping and skidding across the ground, the electric type knocked out. Sigilyph then became more hurt from its burn.
"Zebstrika is unable to battle! The winner is Sigilyph!"
"Zebstrika, return. Eelektross, go." Once her ace was out, she requested, "Use Thunderbolt."
"Psycho Shift!" Dodging the electric attack, the Avianoid Pokemon glowed pink, and so did Eelektross before she became burnt like the flying/psychic type. The burn caused Sigilyph to slow down for a moment.
"Again." Using Thunderbolt again, this time she successfully blasted Sigilyph, zapping the flying type and it fell to the ground, electrically burnt. Even with that win the electric type got hurt from the burn she now had.
"Sigilyph is unable to battle! The winner is Eelektross!"
"Sigilyph, return! Thanks for your contribution. You helped a lot. Hydro, let's go!" Again his friends were perplexed by his choice of Pokemon.
"Again? Won't his starter be susceptible to Eelektross's Thunderbolt?" Rosa wondered.
"Yeah, but I see what Nate is trying to go for." Hugh replied.
"Thunderbolt." As the electric type Pokemon prepared for her attack, Nate commanded,
"Counter with X-Scissor!" Seeing the incoming bolt, Hydro unsheathed his swords and let them glow bright blue before stopping the Thunderbolt, even if the attack still hurt indirectly due to indirect damage. Once the attack was over, Hydro dropped to the ground, panting from the excruciating agony he went through. But thankfully, a blue aura began to glow around him, and he managed to stand up and yelled his name with vigor.
"Samuroooooott!" Nate grinned.
"Torrent. Hydro, use Hydro Pump!" Expelling a powerful stream of water from his mouth, the blast of water nailed against Eelektross with such force and speed she was pushed out of the field and into a wall, causing it to crater. Once the Hydro Pump was finished, the Elefish Pokemon dropped down onto the ground, having fainted.
"Eelektross is unable to battle! The winner is Hydro!"
"Yeah, that was great Nate!" Iris cheered.
"Hey that rhymed." Rosa chuckled.
"Well, it seems like you've got me Nate." Elesa sighed. "Even if Ampharos beat your Samurott, she'd have no chance against your Flygon given how fast it is. Your training is wonderful. So wonderful, I surrender." Getting over her shock, the referee announced,
"Elesa the gym leader has forfeit the match! The winner is Nate Wayland the challenger!"
"Alright Nate! You won!" Iris celebrated as she hugged Rosa.
"Your training paid off!" Rosa added. Hugh didn't say anything, for he did feel jealous for his best friend, but he smiled anyway because he was still proud.
"Samurott, thanks for winning this for us. Take a good rest." The male trainer returned his starter, and walked up to the gym leader. "That was a good match. Even if it was somewhat easy, it was still fun."
"Indeed. You've just shown how much work you've put in for your Pokemon, along with the teamwork with your friends. In fact..." She turned her head to Nate's friends and beckoned them to her. The three got out of their seats and got together with them. "Walk with me." With a snap of her fingers, cameramen and women came in to snap photos while she and three other models came to escort them out. Nate and Iris were a bit anxious of being bombarded by camera shots but they just went with it. Rosa loved it and did poses every few steps while Hugh ignored them, not really caring how his picture was taken, although this would inadvertently please the bad boy fan girls. Once they left the gym, Elesa handed Nate the Bolt Badge. "With your Pokemon, I believe you'll shine brighter than any trainer, and collect all the badges."
"Thank you Elesa. I'll win this thing for sure." Nate promised.
It was night, and Nate was waiting having his Pokemon healed up at the Pokemon Center while they rented rooms there. Hugh went to sleep and the brunette male, in his blue pajamas, was staring up out into the city, bright with neon and noises of fun echoing through the night. He was thinking about how he's reached the halfway mark of his journey and how that despite the challenge being hard, he's been able to overcome it so far, thanks to his friends and even seeing his old neighbor Rosa again. He then heard a knock on the door. Turning around, Nate went to the door and opened it to see it was Iris. She appeared to be anxious with a blush and uncertain eyes, not meeting Nate's.
"Hey Iris. I thought you've gone to sleep already?" The dragon tamer entered his room, so he closed the door.
"I would, but I felt like that tonight would be the right time to cash in that...thing we've talked about?"
"The thing?"
"With my hair?" Nate's eyes opened wide.
"Oh right, that! I actually forgot about it. I've been training so much with you guys and Rosa. You know, thinking about it, you sure you want to do this? I'll accept it but only if you're comfortable."
"I-I'm sure. Just let me get it out of the accessories first."
"Uh...alright." Iris began the procedure by removing the yellow pieces near the top of her head, and then the scrunchies underneath to let them down so that her hair framed her face. Then she brought the the bottom of her hair close and pulled the extra big scrunchie off so that it expanded to its full unrestrained width. Nate was shocked to see the full volume of her dark purple hair. Sitting down, she patted the space behind her. "You can feel it now." Gulping, he went went behind the Pokemon Champion by getting onto his bed, and slipped his hand into her dark locks. It was smooth, and the individual strands together made for a unique experience to the touch, like dipping your hand into a bag of beans but with strands.
"How does it feel, now that you're touching it without a roller coaster?" Nate chuckled to that.
"It feels rather nice. I'm surprised that more people don't compliment it or something."
"The only one that has more hair than me is Caitlin, and everyone gushes over her when she's talked about. I don't understand why nobody say my hair is nice or how I keep it as good as it is. Everyone else has normal hair, whether it's short, straight, curly or braided.
"Well, considering all of the female gym leaders and Elite Four members that I know of, they are normal if a bit quirky in comparison because their style fits who they are. I'd imagine Caitlin and Cynthia stand out because they have luxurious looking hair."
"You're saying my hair isn't luxurious?" Iris asked, her feelings hurt. He backpedaled.
"No, no! What I meant was is that despite its size which is surprising, it doesn't stand out. But looking at this now, and feeling it, I'm thinking how could it not? Your hair's so soft and nice. What do you use?"
"Just regular shampoos and conditioners. I don't really see the difference between regular and expensive hair products." Nate chuckled.
"Heh, yeah. Hey, how about lying down?"
"Uh...okay?" Iris wasn't sure what he was thinking, but did so. However, she found her hair was not underneath her, but rather being used like a big pillow under her friend, humming in content as he snuggled into it, even hugging some of it. She actually found this amusing and giggled. "Having fun with my hair?"
"How could I not? This is so comfortable." He sighed in response. "Aside from your hair, I wonder if people think that you look nice as well."
"Well, I'm certainly no model like Elesa or a bombastic like Skyla but I've been considered pretty among the likes of Flannery and Misty. Although I am jealous of Skyla and Flannery of one certain aspect."
"I can probably imagine what that is so you don't have to say it."
"Thanks. That would've been embarrassing to say." The two lightly laughed as they just stayed like that until Iris asked Nate, "Do you think I'm pretty? And I want an honest answer, nothing that feels like it's only because of my status or something." The boy laughed at that before answering,
"You are quite attractive. Your brown skin looks nice when the sun shines on it and whenever you do something athletic you send shivers down my spine. I-" A look of revelation overtook him. "Oh my goodness am I crushing on you?"
"Sounded like it."
"Uh, I'm sorry I know you said you didn't want-"
"Nate, it's okay." She reassured him, moving her head so that she looked at him. "It's nice to know that you find me attractive."
"Oh, cool." They stayed silent like that before the champion said, "Maybe it's about time I go to bed."
"Yeah, that sounds good." Nate got off her hair and thus allowed the dragon tamer get up and go to the door.
"Thanks for having me over and the compliments. Like honest compliments, not the gushing everyone else does."
"Hehe, you're welcome. Then again maybe it's because all the other champions I know have been around with their jobs long enough to do stuff that would be considered admirable."
"And I haven't done anything admirable?" Iris asked, crossing her arms and looking annoyed.
"Oh-uh...I'm so sorry I-" She cut Nate off by laughing.
"Haha, don't worry, I understand that even if I haven't run off two years ago I doubt I would've done anything significant anyway."
"Well there's no need to put yourself down like that. I think you would've done fine, even if the responsibility was a bit overwhelming. I personally would've just asked for help from my fellow peers."
"I didn't think that was appropriate. I mean, I don't know if that's in a rule book or whatever but I was afraid to ask. It's like as champion you should know everything already."
"Right. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable again." Nate scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"It's okay. Hey, Nate."
"Yeah?" He was surprised when Iris went and kissed him on the cheek.
"Consider that another thanks. Goodnight." With a pat on a head, the teenage dragon tamer walked to her room. Watching her leave, he thought to himself,
("I'm seriously crushing on her.")
A/N: Okay, since nobody has been reviewing for some reason, I'm just going to say for my regard that I think I've been having trouble trying to make the initial part of this romance feel organic, but I think from this point on, it's going to be easier. Actually, be honest, are you guys even liking this story? I know Black and White 2 are the best during post-game but I'm trying really hard to please you all. It's not that I'm desperate but this lack of interaction is making me wonder if I'm just wasting your time writing about something you don't care about. I thought this story would be popular because it's harder than Black 2's difficulty and the protagonists plus Iris are getting the spotlight. I mean, why is my original B&W story much more popular than this? Please tell me something.