Notes:
This is now a multi-installment series! I initially intended "Gives Me Strength" to just be a one-shot, but a ton of ideas started flowing into my head, and after getting some kudos, I feel I need to do it. So, I'm retconning Ash and Iris to explicitly be 19, so I can do some young adult stuff. The story will not get too edgy, but there will be some serious topics touched on.
Also, note the series is now for Teens and Up, so just realize things will be darker from now on, though not super "Dark and Edgy".
Ash had beaten Steven! Like she thought, Iris was almost as happy as if she had beaten Cynthia, like she had thought. But then she remembered, unfortunately, that she had to talk to the media. Truth be told, it didn't seem like any of the reporters or talk-show hosts were out to get her, but it was still nerve wracking to have a conversation that talk shows would spend hours analyzing. And of course, with her luck, Unova was where the biggest media companies were headquartered, which meant they made deals with the Pokémon League requiring her to do this, though the Masters Tournament made everyone agree to do this anyway, Galar was probably number two in that department. Of course, she had media coaching from Drayden, Alder, and when she was on speaking terms with him, Cilan, but she still didn't trust herself, even if it seems she hadn't done anything stupid yet.
She came into the room, nothing too fancy, white walls and ceiling, just people sitting in eight rows of chairs, all facing a booth that she would be sitting in, raised about 5 feet above so everyone could see her no matter how back they were. Doors were on the other three sides the booth wasn't in, presumably in case they needed to get the reporters out quickly. Behind where she would be on the elevated booth, were the PWC logo and the sponsors in sort of a greenscreen behind her. Of course, there was a team that would keep the reporters in line and do other housekeeping stuff to make this go smoothly.
Iris sat down, and before anyone could ask, she said
"First off, I congratulate Cynthia for her victory and commend her for raising three incredible Pokémon, all of which are the best of their species I've ever seen, and I hope she continues to be an inspiring figure for trainers for many more years"
One of the first things she was coached for was to always acknowledge the opponent first thing after a loss, though you want to wait until you're asked if it's a victory, so you don't sound cocky (even though she already had that label long before she became the champion, of course).
The reporters all burst into talking, before someone on the housekeeping team pointed to one, indicating that person got the question
"Iris, you've said before you want to be a Dragon Type Master, why did you use an Excadrill in that match?"
Of course. She knew she was going to be asked this the moment she decided on it. She remembered her old rival Georgia criticizing her for it and making it look like she didn't take her dream seriously, though Georgia had to stop doing that a while ago for obvious reasons. She had long accepted that having Excadrill was going to get her called out on it a lot, but that said, she already knew her answer, and she knew she shouldn't expect people to automatically know her story with it
"It is true that I consider myself a Dragon Specialist and want to be a Dragon Master, but I'm not there yet. The thing about taking a team of all dragons is, if someone has a strong Fairy Type, you can have a really bad time, especially if you don't have strong moves of other types on your dragons. While my Haxorus and Dragonite do have moves that can hit Fairies, their typing makes them very vulnerable to Fairy attacks, but Excadrill is part Steel types, making it resistant to Fairy attacks, so I thought it would be a good way to cover the weaknesses of the other two, and winning this tournament wouldn't make me a Dragon Master, so I think it's okay."
The reporter raised his head again after thinking to himself
"Have you ever thought of catching an Altaria and mega-evolving it to have a Dragon-Fairy type?"
"I will eventually, but they are rare in Unova, and both Unova Champion stuff and Pokémon World Tournament stuff has made it hard to make time and catch hard-to-find Pokémon like that lately, and I don't think it would be a good look to have someone do it for me. I really don't want Alder to think I've given the position back to him while I'm out looking for something. Also, there aren't any mega stones in Unova, so if you have any friends in Kalos, Hoenn, or Alola, tell them to send an Altarianite to me." she joked, this not being the first time she's said that in a press conference. "I will get an Altaria eventually, it just hasn't happened yet"
Everyone was laughing at the mega-stone joke. Success.
People began shouting again, same thing happened, someone on the right edge of the third row
"You saw you're previous travelling companion Ash today. Can you tell us what it felt like?"
Do not tell them you kissed him, Iris.
Do not tell them you kissed him, Iris.
Do not tell them you kissed him, Iris.
Iris took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few seconds, which everyone absolutely noticed
"It's always great to see Ash! It's wasn't the first time in a long time that I saw him, we actually faced each other in Ultra Class a couple of months ago, but it's just a great feeling seeing your friend get in the Masters 8 with you. I'm definitely going to do this again someday, and when I do, I hope to beat him in this tournament. I actually did defeat him when we travelled together, at a tournament called the Nimbasa Pokémon Battle Club, that Excadrill you think I shouldn't have, beat his Pikachu. Yeah, that Pikachu!" looking at the person who answered that, she said "I hope that makes you think that me, the Unova champion, is not an idiot at choosing Pokemon for a battle." she said with a wink, causing all the reporters other then that one to laugh. "Next question?"
Again, everyone started shouting to pick them, but the team chose someone in the middle of the furthest back room
"Two more Ash questions: Why did you have to meditate for a split-second before answering that last question, and have you thought about training with him?"
Do not scream at him, Iris
Do not scream at him, Iris
Just smile, she thought to herself
"Alright, so for the first question, there's so much to say about him that I needed a few seconds to decide what to say. I know him really well, y'know? As for the second, well, I do have my Unova stuff, and not only does he have what I presume are Alola stuff, he also does a lot of work for a lab in Kanto, so our schedules aren't super open, but we'll see how it goes."
Another reporter instantly started talking, before they could start vying for questions
"Ash went to the tunnel before your match with Cynthia, what did and him say?"
He was seen? Crap.
"Well," Iris began, starting to sweat a bit, "Just the normal 'good luck' stuff, the usual stuff like that."
"Why did he look so dumbfounded, so shook, when he returned as your match? Ash hasn't been seen like that very much"
Crap, crap, crap. She was really sweating at how much they were attacking this.
"I told him that…I was excited to face Cynthia, and promised him that I would beat him. He must have known that was crazy of me to do. Hey, I wouldn't have a chance if I didn't think that!"
"And his smile when he came to face Steven?"
"I just told him that I'd be watching him"
After that, someone on that team said "Two more questions, this isn't a Television network interview."
Again, everyone spoke up, someone in the front row was picked
"What would you have done against Cynthia if you fought her again?"
"Well, maybe bring a Mega Altaria so she can't hit me with Draco Meteor, you guys give good suggestions sometimes"
Everyone laughed for a bit"
"But anyway, as for the battle itself, I kind of wasted Dragonite, I underestimated that Milotic, let Cynthia bate me and put him in range of that Iron Head attack. I should have done more of a hit-and-run style to keep it from coiling around him, it was taken out pretty quickly and it's probably really mad about it. Also, I have to figure out a way to get Excadrill to better manage water moves, Cynthia just wore it down with them, though did you notice it defeated her Gastrodon? As for Haxorus I… I…
It's hard to describe, but you know how you just sometimes lose it when talking about something important? The truth is, she didn't know what she could do to improve Haxorus. Her best friend. What caused her to start a journey. And she's failed it. Didn't command it well enough against Ash's Dragonite before, and Cynthia's Garchomp now.
And Iris lost it.
She started to cry. In front of everyone. Not just tearing up, everything was coming out of her eyes.
The room was silent, other than her. After about two and a half minutes, she had calmed down a bit, and continued, sniffling and still full of tears
"I…I love Haxorus and hate that I haven't led it to where it could b-be. I've let it get it KO'd from Draco Meteor a lot. You all think it's the worst Champion's Ace, isn't that the way it's seen? You didn't see Steven's Metagross go down that easily. Lance's Dragonite went down very valiantly. But I made mine look pathetic tonight. I need to multiply its power a lot so I don't let it down. Give it the respect it deserves. I'm sory to him, I'm sorry to Excadrill, I'm sorry to Dragonite, I'm sorry to Emolga, and I'm sorry to Gabite that I let them down, and I'm sorry to everyone in Unova as well for letting them down in this tournament"
The team had clearly decided that was enough, ended the media session, and drove everyone out, and she eventually made her way to her hotel, The Rose of the Rondelands, a five-star hotel that made a deal with the organizers to accommodate the Masters Eight Participants.
ending notes:
There's a lot of angst at the beginning, but I wanted to establish the drama right away, so that we know exactly what Iris is dealing with as the story goes on. There will be fluff later on! Chapter two will be posted shortly after this one, and contains even more angst, but Iris and Ash will get through it. To get a more visual idea of the post-match interview, look at a post-game interview for an NBA player during the playoffs, that's where I took inspiration from. Tell me how much you loved or hated it in the comments! All critique is welcome.