Even in the city, it's peaceful in the very early hours of the morning. There's no cacophony of car horns or the constant murmurs of background noise. Even the wind is cooperative, sending a cool breeze her way. It's perfect for the short walk home. Iris sticks to the trail of streetlights along the sidewalk, right hand brushing past the side of her belt bag. A yawn slips out.
As much as she enjoys the oasis of quiet that has been her trip home, the complete silence from Kyurem is a bit disconcerting. After meeting the rest of her pokemon, it had retreated somewhere inside her mind. Or maybe its mind? Iris still isn't sure how the whole mind-sharing thing works. The core of her training had been on ice manipulation after all. Maybe after finding the keystones, she could ask more about that. For now, there is something more important to ask.
[Kyurem? Are you there?]
The question hangs there. She continues walking, the front door of the house within sight. Still nothing. The corners of her mouth twitch into a frown. Just as Iris is about to send the thought out again, she feels something akin to a 'ping' in her mind.
-I am here.-
Its words are faint as if they're far away. She tries to focus on them, pull them closer. Guilt swirls and rumbles, but it's not hers. Something is definitely up. Stopping in front of the door, Iris reaches for the spare key in her pocket. How do you ask a legendary pokemon to talk about its feelings? Whenever Kyurem talked about its feelings, it has always been on its own terms. Like with the confession of its past, which Kyurem had planned for her to see. Sure, she had brought it out a bit sooner with her request, but Kyurem admitted that it had no intention of keeping that a secret. The dragon seemed to prefer being in the role of a mentor, creating a definite professional distance between them. Carefully, Iris pushes the key into the lock and turns. Maybe an open-ended question would be best.
[Is there anything you want to talk about?]
Silence. Wait no, hesitation, stretches on even longer than the first. All the way up the stairs and into her bedroom. Iris's eyelids begin to droop. She's so tired that she forgets to be impatient. Dragging herself to the bathroom, she lazily brushes her teeth in an attempt to stave off her sleepiness. The zing of mint does nothing, and it's all over anyway once she makes contact with her bed, lulling in its familiarity.
[Kyu...rem?]
Her thoughts slur as sleep takes over. Eyes finally close, her limbs relaxing.
-It is nothing. Good night, Iris.-
The sun pierces through the window, beams of light spattering across her skin. Groaning, her barely open eyes sweep the room before landing on her bedside clock.
11:17
"Crap!"
Iris scrambles out of bed and throws herself into the shower. Even though she technically has the day off from gym apprenticeship duties, there's still work to be done. Excluding the added burden of her vessel responsibilities, she has to keep her pokemon in fighting shape. Considering the last two weeks, getting back into their regular training regimen is high priority.
Not even bothering to dry her hair, she yanks on an old T-shirt won from the Nimbasa amusement park and a pair of shorts. Sprinting out the back door to the training grounds in record time, she flings forth the pokeballs cradled in her arms. Six unamused pokemon emerge. Tanami's wings buzz angrily, chittering like a woman scorned. Cadenza joins in with a melodramatic melody. While not as annoyed, Nettle and Peach huff in impatience. Excited, Labrys runs over to her, sniffing for food. The only one waiting patiently is Hydra. Bowing her head, she apologizes.
"I'm so sorry guys! I'll be right back with an extra-large lunch, okay?"
Peach walks up to her, eyes glaring as if to say 'And….?'
She bows even lower.
"And I'll run five more laps with you guys. Heck, I'll even add two more sets to my other exercises too. Is that punishment enough?"
They all nod and settle into idle chit-chat. Stretching in preparation, Iris marches back into the house. Luckily, the walk-in refrigerator is close by. Everyone gets some variation of red meat, except Cadenza, who eats fish. She takes the portable cart off the wall and unfolds it. Now just a few more scale is next and labelled buckets last. Finally, she can start weighing out their meals.
Voices enter the kitchen. Even through the thick walls of the walk-in, Iris can tell that Drayden is one of them. The other seems familiar, but is a bit too quiet to make out. A guest? Curious, she finishes portioning out the food and wheels the cart out the fridge door. Both sets of eyes turn toward her. Drayden frowns a little. Iris isn't sure if it's due to her state of unkemptness, her tardiness in taking care of her pokemon, or both. Or perhaps it's due to the way she is not-so-politely staring at their guest, Colress. Drayden clears his throat.
"Iris, this is Colress, a pokemon researcher. He is doing a study on the effectiveness of different training methods for dragon-type pokemon. We've been discussing letting him interview and observe some of the trainers at the gym. Of course, this includes you as well. Will you participate?"
Iris wants to say no, but she had tried that back on the bus, hadn't she? With a forceful shove too. If she refused him, he might come back some other way like he was doing now. Worst case, he could catch her off guard at a time when she would be using Kyurem's powers. Then, being the nosy person he clearly is, Colress would want to know about it. Best to just get him and his stupid research over with.
"Sure. I'm going to feed them and get changed for training. We'll start at 12:30."
She stays just long enough to endure his thanks. Then it's out the door and back again. In the safety of her room, Iris fumes.
[Ugh! What is up with that guy!?]
Plenty of trainers have visited, eager to learn about training dragons. At worst, there's been some weird fans that have pestered her. Colress is getting pretty close to matching their persistence. Iris pulls out a spare training uniform and a hair tie.
[Uh, Kyurem? This is the part where you should say 'I know, right?']
More silence. Well, if she has to wait, she can at least get ready. Changing into the uniform is a matter of seconds, but taming her hair takes a bit longer than usual. Right as Iris is about to leave, Kyurem responds.
-I agree with your caution towards his character.-
Its words feel distant again. Hand on the doorknob, she sighs and mutters.
"Something is clearly up with you too…"
Unfortunately, she will have to address it later. It's 11:58 and she still has to take the now empty buckets back in and eat her own lunch. Walking down the stairs she can smell takeout, healthy takeout if one can believe such a thing. Stir fried vegetables and proteins sit tantalizingly in their cardboard bowls. Colress beckons her over.
Drayden is there, which means she has to be polite. Because somehow Colress has fooled him into thinking that he's a normal person. So, keeping her face neutral, see goes to him.
"Please allow me to thank you two once more for helping with my research. Hopefully this can cover your nutritional and caloric needs. I heard, similar to Drayden, that you actively train with your pokemon. Such a practice is usually only done with fighting-types, so I'm interested to see how you apply it with dragon-types."
He looks at her expectantly. Iris wishes that she knew what to expect these days. The past two weeks, Kyurem, Colress. It's just been one thing after another.
"This looks great. Thanks."
She tries to give a civil smile, but it just comes out as an awkward show of teeth. Thankfully, Colress takes it in stride, seating himself with a modest portion of food. Iris waits until he and Drayden are engaged in conversation to take some for herself. She's glad she doesn't have to try and make small talk. Monitoring her food intake is more important. Training is in less than an hour, so she shouldn't eat too much. Yet, she does need more energy now, courtesy of Kyurem. Carefully, she begins eating, counting calories in her head. But then Drayden stands up.
"I have to get going. Can't keep the council waiting. Hopefully, I should be back in time to help with dinner."
He picks up his suitcase and goes over to Iris, patting her on the shoulder.
"I know you'll impress him with your training. Don't overdo it though."
She nods, a small grin emerging.
"Thanks, and duly noted. Have fun with your meeting."
"I will!"
The front door shuts, and now it's silent. As much as Iris doesn't want to talk to him, she is curious about his research. There were plenty of people who studied Unova's myths like Cynthia, or perhaps he could be a closet dragon-type fanatic. As a future dragon-type Gym Leader, she had definitely met her fair share of those. Ultimately, she wants to be sure that he isn't digging too deep into lore that could lead to Kyurem.
"So…Unova's legendary dragons, the potential of pokemon, dragon-type training...Your research topic seems to change quite a bit, huh?"
Colress chuckles, shaking his head a little.
"Allow me to correct your misunderstanding. All of this dragon related research is a request made by my colleague. My main area of study is how to bring out the full potential of pokemon, though I must admit. There is a bit of overlap."
"Because it is your research, just focused on dragon-types."
Another puff of laughter escapes, and he leans towards her conspiratorially.
"Not exactly. He's focused on a certain dragon in particular, and after looking into it myself, I find my interest is piqued as well."
Hopefully, this isn't going where she fears it's going.
"Which dragon?"
"The Original Dragon. Isn't it a tempting thought? Think of the power! The potential!"
His eyes are somewhere beyond the present, almost manic. Iris uses this time to scoot a few inches away from him.
"But it doesn't exist anymore."
She hopes that will bring him back to reality, but it only seems to increase his fervor.
"Fortunately, my research shows that it can! When the Original Dragon was split apart, it wasn't just split into Zekrom and Reshiram. There was something left behind. A husk. It took a while to find a name, but I managed to overhear it in the Village of Dragons. Kyurem! Having a name implies sentience. This 'Kyurem' could be Unova's third legendary dragon!"
A sinking feeling settles in her stomach. Knowledge of the husk left behind from the split was uncommonly known and largely ignored due to the focus on Zekrom and Reshiram. Most theorists hypothesized that the husk was a statue or a fossil buried somewhere in Relic Castle. Thanks to her ancestors' prolonged hiding of Kyurem, few thought that it could be a pokemon.
"If that's the case, then it's a simple matter of gathering the components!"
This is getting into dangerous territory now. She needs to discourage him.
"You realize that Champion Hilbert has Reshiram, right? I doubt he'd just let you have it. Then there's the matter of Zekrom, who's with N, and nobody knows where he is! And Kyurem has been missing! For centuries!"
"Those two? They're an obstacle that can be dealt with later."
He says it as if there aren't a dozen or so things that would need to happen to even meet them.
"Though you said something interesting."
Exactly like she had wanted, Colress had returned to the present. But now his attention is on her, eyes sharp and dissecting.
"You used the name Kyurem so readily rather than 'the husk.' And it certainly doesn't sound like the first time you've used it. Could it be that you already knew?"
It's a question that's not a question. It isn't even an accusation. His tone holds the same polite, professional lilt from their first meeting. The perfect voice for stating facts.
"The Village of Dragons has been the only place in which I have heard a name for the husk. Even then, it was a hushed whisper. She didn't even realize that I was there until a moment later. Just to test something, I asked about the husk. Quite a few questions in fact. In all of her answers, she never said the name. Why keep such a simple thing a secret?"
Sweat trickles down the back of her neck. How could things go this badly on her first real-world day as a vessel? She can't fail here!
"Why didn't you ask her?"
It's a bit of a desperate redirection, but a logical question that anyone might ask. At least, she hopes so. Why couldn't he be less nosy? Why did she have to meet him on the bus that day?
"I figured if she wasn't going to mention the name, then she certainly wasn't going to answer that question."
"That's too bad."
"It is."
Sweat is already trickling down her back, and training hasn't even started yet. Iris glances at the kitchen clock. Colress's eyes follow. The time is 12:23.
"It's almost time for your training isn't it?"
Colress seems to be very fond of asking questions that are actually statements. Another reason for her to dislike him.
"I should let you go. You probably have some last minute preparations. Don't worry, I'll clear the table."
With that, he stands. There's an unreadable smile on his face as he discards the cardboard and places the leftovers in perfectly sized containers. The whiplash of it all stuns her out of responding back. Wasn't he going to be his pushy self and interrogate her? He was giving her a clear escape from the situation. He didn't even end his sentence with something foreboding like 'for now.' Iris rises cautiously and walks towards the back door, grateful and confused.
On autopilot, she fills up a water bottle and heads out. Buckets are gathered. All traces of myoglobin are washed away with scrubs of bubbles and hose water. They glisten in the sun, waiting to dry. Lifting her wet hands, she claps them against her cheeks.
"Calm down. Just focus on training. Get this over with."
It's cold, colder than it should be. Slowly, she runs her fingers down the side of her face. Refrigerator-level cold it isn't, but she can feel it almost halfway down her fingers. Okay, not ideal. Iris turns and jogs towards her team. In the corner of her vision, she spots him, white lab coat and bright hair discordant against the surrounding foliage. She'll have to think of a way to use her ice without him noticing. Closing her eyes, she inhales. 1, 2, 3, 4. Exhales. 4, 3, 2, 1. With a burst of energy, Iris opens her eyes and grins.
"Alright everyone! Let's go!"
Laps are first, done in accordance with each pokemon's preferred battle mobility. Hydra and Tanami keep to the air, pushing the limit of when they need to touch the ground and rest their wings. Cadenza, confined to the pool, weaves through the water. She traces new patterns above and below, whether graceful loops or sharp zig-zags. On the ground, Iris runs, shoes slapping the dirt as she fruitlessly tries to keep up with Labrys, who keeps on lapping her. It doesn't frustrate her though. A human being able to outrun a haxorus is an entertaining, but impossible thought. Nettle alternates between earth and sky, excelling at neither. Druddigons aren't known for their speed, unfortunately. But they are known for their hard, unforgiving skin and broad bodies. Sprints and flights are broken with sudden pivots, flips, and dips. An opponent avoiding a head-on charge may be surprised when the edge of her wing or tail rakes them. Peach is the only one who has laps involving all three terrains. A dragonite through and through, air and water are her playground. Though not as nimble on the ground, she makes up for it in sheer competitiveness. It's a good day for her if she manages to only be one lap behind Labrys.
Each intake of air is harder than the last, and her ears feel as though they are about to pop. Usually she would stop now, while the others go until they need a break as well, but her promise means five more to go. Not stopping, she grabs her water bottle from the sidelines and chugs, cooling the water within. It barely helps. The world warps, making her nauseous. Iris slows to a walk, but her breathing continues erratically. Her pokemon cry out, but it's muffled and muted. Static creeps up her neck, filling the edges of her vision.
-Iris!-
Kyurem's voice rings out, clear and true.
But there's no response.
Author's Notes
The moral here clearly is: Don't say 'duly noted' unless you mean it. Sorry Iris. This story was originally going to be more light-hearted than this, I swear. You and Kyurem were going to be friends from the start. I had some fun ice shenanigans planned. Then again, my plans rarely go to plan...At least I got to use my experience with almost fainting here.
Dragonite's pokedex entries are crazy. Peach was going to have the same hybrid training as Nettle. Able to fly and move well on the ground, but not specialize in either. I mean, looking at a dragonite, I would have never guessed that it could break the sound barrier with those piddly wings. The living in the sea thing was a smaller surprise. It made more sense once I thought about its pre-evolutions.
Also if you're wondering how Colress got takeout so quickly, just remember that psychic pokemon exist. Are you telling me that someone hasn't invented teleport-takeout? It's fast food on a level that we could only wish for!
