Opening notes:
So at the end of JN118, Iris, Alain, and Steven left after Ash had fought Steven, that obviously isn't happening here, and I don't like that it happened. Because the next two episodes are focusing on Chloe and aren't about the tournament, I can no longer mimic how the tournament goes in canon, so the point of divergence widens starting here. To clarify about ages, Ash was 16 when he started in Kanto and was that age through the Orange Islands and Johto, 17 during AG and DP, 18 during BW and XY, and turned 19 while in Alola and is still 19 here (Journeys). Iris is also 19. Goh is 16, having just started out. More character age changes will be noted as they appear. This series will now switch between Iris and Ash in a limited third-person perspective, since Ash will now be more prominent, though Iris will have a bigger percentage of it.Story begins below:
-Ash's perspective-
"Pika-pi!"
Ash woke up to Pikachu shouting to him, someone must be knocking on the door. Yeah, he could hear knocking now. He went to sleep somewhat early to make sure he'd be ready to face Cynthia tomorrow. He would hate to see Iris' reaction if he was tired from a lack of sleep. Also, he needed to know what he and Iris really were, since they didn't see each other after his battle against Steven and…he figured she needed some space. Well, Leon told him she needed it, after they and Steven watched her Press Conference together.
Earlier…
Goh had earlier gone with Hop and Sonia to do something research related. Goh didn't really say what before telling Ash he wouldn't be at the Rose until night-time.
Later, he found himself watching Iris' interview in the breakfast room, which perhaps was a bad idea because for some reason, Leon and Steven soon turned up and decided to watch it with him, and those were two of the people Ash was pretty sure didn't take no for an answer, unless it was family or a close friend. That said, they were pretty silent until the interview ended.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu seemed shocked at the interview.
"Wow, they were a lot harsher on her then I thought they'd be. I often refer to myself as a Steel Type specialist, and they never ask me when I use a Pokémon that isn't a Steel type, like my Cradily." Steven noted.
"There must be weird expectations for the Unova champion. That's where most of the media companies are located, that could mean the media expects more from her. I thought she fought a fantastic battle against Cynthia, I think it might have been the best loss, no offense to you, Steven" Leon said.
Steven laughed.
"Well, I could have avoided that if I had won, but I didn't, so you're free to say whatever you want about me" he said, more lightly then he usually was.
"I just wish people respected her Excadrill more. It beat one of Cynthia's Pokémon! Yet they're treating it like a joke. But it's not, she wasn't lying when she said it defeated Pikachu once. And I hate that they made her cry. She likes to win, and they shouldn't punish her for it." Ash exclaimed.
A little surprised by that outburst, the older two champions looked at the younger one.
"It's part of what we have to deal with by losing. I'm probably going to get some criticism from some of my people for not using my Claydol, whose ground type meant you couldn't use that Z-move on. Of course, one of your other Pokémon could have knocked it out, but those people won't be thinking that" Steven said.
"I haven't lost, of course, but after all of my victories, I've heard people say they could have defeated me if they did something differently. Although by now, I've probably beaten what they were thinking in different battle. Because of the nature of what we do, command the Pokémon to battle, we inherently make it look easier than it really is, because it requires little-to-no physical action on our part, and almost everyone has raised a Pokémon one way or another, as pets or as work assistance or as battlers themselves. Our positions are envied, so people wish to think they could do it better then us, when we're here because no-one can do it better in our regions. But people would like to think that they can. Never mind the media interactions, League meetings, public appearances, and the other duties we need to do."
"Actually," Ash responded, "I don't need to do any of that stuff other then show up at a few battle-royals and be at the league tournaments to defend the title."
Both Steven and Leon laughed.
"Cherish that time when Alola wasn't thought of much, because after beating me, it's going to get a lot more attention and as such, you're going to need to do a lot more as the champion." Steven said.
"I hate to tell you this, but the media didn't really care Alola had a champion at first, I didn't even remember it was you the first time I met you because I had forgotten due to only seeing a small amount of coverage of it. What Steven said is true, and Alola also wasn't visited by a lot of trainers before, it will be now. You're going to be asking me for advice soon."
Ash groaned.
"Pika-pi" Pikachu said, concerned for his best friend.
"I just want to have a fun time battling and have a good time with the people there, make my mom proud. I never really thought about becoming like Cynthia but…I guess I'm there. Alola hasn't asked too much from me, but you're probably right. Heck, that's probably why I acted like being the Alola champ was no big deal for a while until a recent Battle Royal."
"What's probably going to be a big help is that Alola is a smaller region, so it won't be as intense as me and Steven have it. Just, don't be afraid to ask when you need it. That Rotom phone was made for that reason, remember. Not just allegedly free games that you have to pay the microtransactions for to fully enjoy. Don't tell the media I love those games and pay for a lot of fast building on the strategy games. Or Sonia." He and Ash laughed at that, though Steven didn't as he never saw the appeal of video games. Getting slightly annoyed, he added his own bit.
"I have Wallace as sort of the person in the back of my plane for my Champion endeavors, in fact, you might remember he was the actual champion for a while, before I, well, I'll just say I received the title back from him. Now, Leon, I know that all the Galar gym leaders' kind of work with you, but Ash, since Alola doesn't really have gyms, at least yet, you just need to find that person who sits behind you for assistance. I'm sure it'll come as you think about it more."
"Thanks for all of this advice you two, I'll have a couple of days at least to mentally prepare for the higher intensity I'll be dealing with, but I do have a lot of close friends in Alola, so I'll get to messaging them right away and hopefully I can get some of that squared away. I think I'm going to head to my room now, I need to clear my head and really prepare for tomorrow, because you know who I'm facing."
"Please do that. I want to face you in a full-battle!"
"Since you beat me, I do expect you to also defeat her. Pikachu, know that you have my full respect and admiration, and I hope my Metagross becomes as powerful as you are one day in its base form."
"Pikachu!" Pikachu responded, presumable thanking him for the compliment.
"By the way, I did that because, Sonia left me hanging dry to do something with Goh and Hop, so I thought it would be funny to do something with you." Leon said, apparently thinking that would be hilarious given his smirk.
Ash and his partner waved goodbye at them, and those two also parted right afterwards, Ash made his way to his room. This one had green walls, the bathroom was down to the right, the TV and furnature was down to the left corner, there was a counter directly to the left of the door, and there were closets across from it, not that Ash needed to use much of it. They sort of accommodated Goh because the room had a pull-out bed from one of the closets, which Goh was fine with.
Ash and Pikachu went to the two easy chairs sitting diagonal from the TV.
"Pikachu, is it okay if you sit out the battle against Cynthia? In a three versus three, having a Pokémon that can't hit one of the other team would put us at a real disadvantage. And she's definitely going to bring that Garchomp."
"Pikachu." The mouse responded, understanding the predicament.
"And, you'll be fully rested to battle Leon's Charizard" Ash said, smiling.
"Pika!" Pikachu excitedly went, totally fine with the logic now.
Ash went outside and fed his Pokémon, not trusting Gengar to not break something in the room, and did some stretches with them, before recalling them all and going back to his hotel.
"Let's go to sleep a bit early, Pikachu, I don't want to be taking a nap while trying to take that Garchomp down. I also would hate to see what Iris would call me if that happened as well. Could you sleep on the couch in-case anyone knocks?" (Goh would just walk in, so anyone knocking would not be him.)
Inside his room, he did think for a while. Was he really ready to start acting like a proper champion after this? He thought he would just need to do all those Battle Royals and the seasonal tournaments, but they were right that the added notoriety would require him to do more things. Would he have to design new Island Trials himself? Find new Kahunas? Who in Alola could be a new Kahuna? Maybe Kiawe, but Sophacles and Lana just weren't good enough, and Gladion wouldn't want to do it. His other past rivals? Paul was already about to become a gym leader in a different region, Gary is committed to research and wouldn't want to do all the battles, he had a feeling Alain would be uninterested… Hopefully Professor Kukui had some answers. Maybe just replace them with gyms and hope he can lure in Misty, Cilan, and Clemont? No, the people would revolt if the Island Challenge system was replaced, and those friends of his wouldn't want to leave their cities.
Oh, and he probably would soon need an Elite Four. Yeah, he might as well hold try-outs at this point, since every person he could think of to ask would have a reason to say no. Especially when Alola is far-away from the other regions, it's not like how a person could work in Johto and live in Kanto if they really wanted to.
And then there was her. Now, he had been kissed before, but they were all goodbye kisses and he didn't feel anything special for them, at least not now. But he was seeing Iris tomorrow. Would things be awkward? Was that just nerves getting to her and she didn't want to do anything else? So many question marks, but he supposed to himself that he would have to wait until tomorrow to get that all sorted out.
When he had started out at age 16, and just never worried about anything at night-time, Brock had always told him to cherish that time while it lasted. He didn't understand it then, but he does now. That said, he was able to force himself to doze off...
Now
Ash opened the door, and his purple-haired…what was she now to him? Regardless, Iris was standing there. A Nimbasa City T-shirt and jean-shorts were her nighttime attire for the night, living in the city perhaps rubbed off on her because it was a far cry from the cream-colored outfit that he was used to seeing her wear.
Looks like some questions were going to be answered tonight.
"Uh, Iris, is there anything you need now?"
"I'm…well, just someone to talk to."
"I'm sorry that your interview went badly."
"So even you saw it."
"Even kids watch that stuff."
She just looked at him. Ash realized she really was taking it hard at that point.
"I think ninety-nine percent of the people that know you personally watched that."
"I'm never going to get past this…people will always bring this up."
"Iris, you remember our journey together? At the Vertress Conference, I lost to a team of five with a full team of six. The conference in Sinnoh before that, I got to the top four. I didn't tell you this because we had to deal with Team Plasma right after that and that made me not think about it initially, but that ate me up a lot a few nights after that. I tried really hard in Kalos after that, and was the runner-up, to Alain, believe it or not, and that quelled that frustration permanently. I kind of wish I was able to rematch him in that first round, but I'll accept a win over Steven as a good alternative."
"So, you had a very reachable way to get past that. I don't. Who's better then Cynthia? By this tournament, possibly you, Leon, or Diantha, but she might end up winning, and besides, I lost to you recently. It feels like I've hit a ceiling."
"You're just nineteen."
"So are you."
"I don't know what you want me to say… you hold the Champion position in Unova, that means you're really good, but it doesn't mean you're unbeatable. Doesn't your Elite Four give you a run for your money?"
"I always finish with just one left against them all…"
"Okay, so until you can beat them all without losing any Pokémon, I don't think you should beat yourself up over losing to Cynthia."
"Ever since I faced her way back then, when Haxorus was an Axew, my dream was to beat her. Part of the reason I went for the Champion position was that I thought I would look awesome beating her as another Champion. But I lost to her, and being the Champion stresses me out to no end…"
Stress. That's it! She's just drowning in stress right now. He had been thinking of places to take her, had instantly figured it out, and there's no time like the present!
"So you think your stress is overtaking you…Here, can I take you somewhere?"
"Right now?"
"You, me, Pikachu, and Dragonite. Well, actually, your Dragonite as well, I don't think a Dragonite could fly two humans at once over a long period of time. Oh, and bring warm clothing, did you see the snow south of this city?"
"Ash, it's late at night and did you just forget that I feel like crap? Also, I would prefer to not be cold when I already have to deal with all of Unova being in snow for a few months every year."
He took both of her hands. It reminded him of what they had done earlier that day, that neither of them had brought up yet, he just realized.
"Please?"
She gave him that iconic scowl, the look she gives when she's not amused, that he and their friend Cilan grew very familiar with on that past journey. Ash realized he hadn't heard from Cilan in a while, but decided he could ask that later. Time and place, and all that, which Professor Kukui and to a lesser extent, Goh, had tried to pound into him.
He didn't want her to suffer all night, which she clearly was doing right now.
- Iris' perspective –
"Fine." She said, turning back, under her breath, even though he wouldn't hear it, "just because it's you who is asking."
She didn't know why she was doing it. Well, because it was him who asked her, but she didn't really know where they stood, they sure didn't act like anything major had happened earlier just then. But it would probably come up now.
Going back to her room, to her Poké Balls, she took Dragonite's. She then put on winter clothing. Kudos to Drayden for forcing her to bring them.
They had never flied like this before with him. A small tinge of excitement pierced through her stress at the prospect of it. At least the air would feel nice.
She felt kind of bad for keeping him up, but he himself wanted this next part, so it wasn't on her what happened in the morning.
All she knew was, she was probably about to do something crazy.
Meeting him outside, both released their Dragonites. Ash's immediately gave him a smile, she was seemingly always a very kind dragon. Her Dragonite, with his usual edginess, giving a sneer at her, probably mad that she interrupted his sleep.
"Sorry Dragonite, Ash really wanted this."
It grunted.
Both got on their Dragonites.
"Follow us."
And south they went, over the cityscape, there weren't a lot of tall buildings in Wyndon, but it still went on for a while, until they saw mountains in the distance, that she knew Ash was taking her to the peak of one, though obviously not one of the taller ones.
Landing, they just looked at each other for a bit, before Ash spoke up
"Follow me."
She followed him for a bit, seeing some wild Pokémon, Galarian Mr. Mime's, Snovers, Glalies, Sneasels, Cubchoos…and what she assumed were Galarian variants of Darumakas, which was really weird because they were fire types in Unova, but apparently the opposite here.
"Ash, why the hell did you bring me to a place full of ice-types? I'm not scared of them anymore but they still look weird to me! Dragonite can't protect me from a thousand Ice-attacks! This better not be a little kid thing!"
Ash only laughed...
"Just a few more minutes, it'll be worth it, I promise"
He took her hand, maybe to try to reassure her? She honestly wasn't scared (she actually cherished that memory of working with Georgia's Vanilluxe at Ferroseed Research) but she couldn't do much about it now. After a few minutes, he stopped her, and in front of them must have been what he wanted to show her.
A very tall Pokémon, almost six feet tall, and looked really heavy, being some sort of metal. Its colors were light gray and dark blue, with triangular indents for hands. Its torso was like a steel pillar, and its feet were like steel boulders. Its tail was another steel chunk, it was almost like a collection of steel boulders, but in the shape of a dinosaur, if it had to be compared to something.
"Go ahead, ask your Rotom phone" Ash said.
"Duraludon, a Steel and Dragon type. They live in the mountains of Galar, tending to keep to themselves, and like being in active weather conditions. While they appear heavy, their bodies are actually a light metal, and they are just eighty-eight pounds, or forty kilograms."
Wow. Wow!
"Ash…this is amazing. A steel and a Dragon type? That's the same typing as Dialga! This Pokémon doesn't take super-effective damage from Fairy attacks! And that weight, it's a lot less heavy then Haxorus! Haxorus is over two-hundred pounds! This is a really unique Pokémon species! Thank you so much for showing me this!"
She stood across from it.
"May I?"
She touched it, to sense its feelings.
"I can tell you're confused. Thank you for letting me do this and not attacking."
"I can see that nothing phases you. You never get angry or sad, not because you don't have emotions, but you refuse to let bad situations get to you. I wish I was like that. I'm letting a recent loss get to my head, and I can't shake that feeling off. I'm the opposite of you. If only I could rub some of your traits off of you into me. It would make me a better Champion. It's ironic that I feel I have so much more to do even though I have that position."
But just then, electric sparks appeared on it. Uh-oh, that wasn't good.
"Ash, this Pokémon is paralyzed! But luckily for us, I keep a paralyze heal with me!"
"Wow Iris, you really are at your best when Dragon Pokémon are around!"
Ironically, it was Cilan who had made her commit to always carrying one around with her. At least she could still use his wisdom, even if they would never be friends again. She didn't know how she was going to tell Ash about it, especially because it was only a matter of time before he'll ask about him. But that's for a later time.
She carefully sprayed it all throughout his body, using her senses to know where it was paralyzed the most.
It let out a cry, which Iris could feel was out of joy, not anger.
Ash clapped for her. "Looks like this trip was worth it", he said, smiling
She ran to him and hugged him, and they embraced for a minute.
"And no thanks to you. Thanks for taking me here." She said, smiling
"You thought I was playing a prank on you. What a kid"
"You're so lucky that I'm in a good mood"
"Anyway, I was being mature by letting you do all the work, I'm just that wise." He joked back. "But seriously Iris, you might have saved this Dragon Pokémon's life. It's hard to be paralyzed in the wild."
"Yeah, events like this makes specializing in Dragon's worth it. No, makes being a Pokémon trainer worth it!"
Just then, the Duraluden gave out a cry.
"Huh?" Iris questioned
"I think it wants to see if you're worthy enough, if you know what I mean" Ash said
Smirking, Iris said
"Oh, I'll let you see what Champion means and why you should be the Pokémon of one! Go on, Dragonite!"
He came forward with his usual spunk. Ash, Pikachu, and his own Dragonite kept on watching.
"Dragonite, Thunder Punch!" Iris began.
Dragonite lunged forward and hit the Steel Dragon with the electric fist, knocking it back.
But after that, the Duraluden retaliated by making a silver ball and hurling that at Dragonite, who dodged it
"Wow, Gyro Ball! It hits harder the slower the user is then the target, so that might have hurt Dragonite badly if it connected!" Iris noted
"Dragonite, do another Thunder Punch!"
However, when Dragonite swooped in, the Duraluden created several rocks and threw them at Dragonite, causing him to fall down to the ground...
"That's Rock Tomb!"
The Duraluden then swiped at Dragonite with green energy.
"I should have expected it to know Dragon Claw! Dragonite, shake it off and fly up!"
Dragonite fought it off, and flew up just like Iris wanted.
"Dragon Rush!"
Dragonite cloaked itself in the energy shaped like a Dragon and flew into Duraluden. Duraluden tried to match it with Dragon Claw, but failed and was hit. It must have flinched, because it didn't do anything as Dragonite flew back up.
"Again!"
Dragonite again flew into Duraluden, and again flinched it.
"Flamethrower!"
Dragonite created an extra-large flame, still annoyed at the Duraluden for that earlier Dragon Claw. Bathed in flames, the Duraluden tried to withstand it, but soon fell to the side, and was slow to get up."
"Iris, now is your chance!" Ash said, having been silent until now, and throwing her a Poké Ball.
Iris threw it. One, two, three!
"Always nice to get a new friend, isn't it? And Dragonite overall dominated that fight, just what a Champion should do."
"Ash, this is the coolest! This honestly has been the most fun night that I've had in a while. Thank you, thank you! And Dragonite, you're the best! Keep being the toughest one, while I be the toughest girl!"
Dragonite did his flex.
She and Ash smiled at each other, perhaps wondering if they should take it, but then Ash said...
"If we leave now, we can still get past to the hotel just a little after midnight, I think it would be good to get at least six hours of sleep, so, can we?"
Well, it was her fault for not taking it.
He might have felt that too. Or he was thinking something, because they didn't talk much on the flight back. Though her Dragonite was very proud of himself for winning that earlier fight, defeating fellow Dragon Types was its favorite thing, though it was probably itching for a rematch against Cynthia's Milotic.
Finally, they got back to The Rose of the Rondelands fifteen minutes past midnight. She feared it would just be a quick goodnight, but he spoke soon after they got off their Dragons...
"Iris…"
"Yeah, Ash?"
"What are we?"
"Well…we did kiss earlier today. Well, now it's yesterday. And you told me that the second kiss would give you strength like I thought the first one would, and you did defeat Steven, and I was really happy about it."
"Why did you kiss me in the first place?"
"Because…I like you, you dork. Why else?"
I mean, we stopped right short of making out before you faced Steven, she wanted to say but this is one of the few times she does care about being "too much"...
"Remember what I said before I stole that kiss before I faced Cynthia? I would say that again now if I had to."
"Iris…I didn't really think of being in a relationship with you until today. We didn't talk at all between when I left for Kalos and you went to Johto and while of course we've Rotom messaged since, I didn't expect you to kiss me there like- I mean, I just figured you had someone in Unova, being champion and all."
What was he going to say before he stopped himself before he said "like-"? Might be touchy, so she decided she would ask later.
"Remember, I wasn't close with a lot of people before I started travelling with you, and I honestly am not super close with a lot of people now. It's really just a lot of business relationships, everything is different when you have such a big title. They don't even want me to swing on vines anymore, though I still do it, 'cause it's not like they can do anything about it."
She wasn't going to tell him how she, in fact, lost a good friend because of it.
"Ash, if you want this…It's yours. Please give this a chance."
"Well, how are we going to make it work with me splitting between Alola and Kanto and you in Un-"
Both Dragonites and Pikachu both started their cries
She didn't have to do her thing to know what they were saying
"Just kiss her!"
Ash, fortunately, got it too, she was relieved.
"Yeah, I want it. We'll figure it out later."
And they kissed.
It led to him kissing her against a wall.
She realized that things would be dicey if anyone saw that, but fortunately, the events tomorrow meant everyone was either already asleep or in their rooms, and they weren't kissing where a light was shining.
Eventually, he stopped her...
"I should probably go to sleep now"
"Are you going to sleep anyway? You'll probably talk to Goh for 4 hours after this, knowing you." she retorted.
"I won't. I promise"
She smirked
"You better. Because you know what will happen if I find out you didn't sleep. Including calling you that thing involving age."
"I won't be giving you any chances to roast me, especially now" he said with a laugh
They hugged and said their goodbyes.
Despite what she said, she didn't know if she herself could get any sleep. Flying to the nearest Pokémon Center, she had Duraluden checked out, and after an hour, it was at full health.
She then released it from its Poké Ball.
"How are you?"
"Dur."
"Never the emotional type, huh? But I just want you to know, I'll protect you just as much as you protect me."
Duraluden nodded its head. Iris wasn't sure if it believed her, or just didn't care.
"Well, goodnight. You'll meet everyone else tomorrow."
While tomorrow seemed exciting, she was also a bit terrified for it. What if Ash got crushed by Cynthia?
But with Duraluden having no complications, she went to sleep happy, because what had happened was still so magical.
-Back to Ash's perspective-
Goh had gone back and was on his Rotom Phone as Ash walked into the room (maybe he was talking to Chloe?)
"Did she show you a good time?" Goh asked.
"No, but I did. We went to the mountains south of here, flying on our Dragonites, and I showed her a Duraluden, which she caught. Just a fun adventure."
"That's a really smart move, facilitating her getting a new Dragon. Makes you look considerate. Though it's not a crime to get the tongue from your girlfr-"
Just then, Pikachu got Goh's attention, and leaned into the wall, making a kissing motion...
"REALLY?" Goh screamed.
"…Yeah, that happened. Don't tell anyone before this tournament ends. And Pikachu, I thought we were friends!"
Pikachu just laughed.
"Pretty badass to do that to the Unova Champion." Goh stated with a smirk.
"I've never thought of myself as badass, but sure." Ash responded.
"But if you're going to be that badass, then you better beat Cynthia."
"Goh, I've been wanting to do that for a while, but her beating Iris before this definitely gives this an even more special feeling then it already had. Seriously, I almost challenged for a few times, back when I was doing the Sinnoh gym challenge, though that would not have gone well if I had gone through with that. Flint crushed me when I did challenge him back then."
"You're so casual about all of your connections."
Ash looked to the side for a bit, that was true, he just never thought about it.
"I guess I met everyone over such a long period of time that it never felt overwhelming to meet all the famous people. There's a lot of stuff that's hard to notice if you're involved in it, but people watching it do."
"I guess you're right. Hey Ash, you should go to sleep now, Cynthia surely will be well-rested and Iris might be scary if she finds you didn't get enough of it."
"Heh, it would be worse than you think. Goodnight."
Trusting Goh to turn off the lights, Ash went to the bedroom, followed by Pikachu, dreaming about the dark-skinned Dragon Trainer (and regional champion) who was now, no other way to put it, his girlfriend.
Ending notes:
Did I depict Iris' Dragon Communication powers correctly? It's pretty vague, the series itself doesn't explain it very much and I couldn't find much of anything on Bulbapedia and the Pokemon Wiki. The longest chapter yet! I didn't think it would be this long, but it was, and I felt it still wasn't too long (something you can tell me in the comments if you feel otherwise). There will probably be two more chapters of this part (seven was a guess), then the next part will be past the Masters Eight Tournament and be completely new stuff for the power couple. Tell me how much you loved or hated it in the comments! All critique is welcome!