Chapter 65

Watching Iris scarper away from Cilan like an embarrassed gible, May arched an eyebrow at him, 'what did you do?'

'Nothing, I was just enjoying the delectable aroma of travelling with her again,' Cilan frowned, crossing his arms as he looked at his fellow Unovan rushing ahead, Axew on her shoulder.

Nodding her head, May considered their mutual friend momentarily, especially the fact that Iris had a crush on Cilan. If the usually hot-headed woman could rush away like that, it could only be because Cilan had done something to embarrass her. The only other person May knew with a fiery persona like Iris was Misty, and May had only ever seen Misty bolt away from Ash in embarrassment when he'd inadvertently made Misty think of her affection for him.

With a smile, she assured the oblivious man, 'I'm sure she's feeling the same, she's probably hungry or something.'

Nodding his head, Cilan smiled innocently at May before calling to Iris, 'Iris, food's ready, come and get it!'

'How's your appeal practice going?' Cilan asked, smiling eagerly up at her as May took a seat on the ground.

'About as well as a rusted ship stuck at port,' May muttered as Axew began climbing into May's bag.

'That bad?' Cilan asked, clearing a space so he could sit without ruining his suit.

Brushing an invisible speck of dirt from his vest, Cilan's eyes fell on the dragon type, who was still exploring May's bag with an eagerness that made him frown.

'Axew, stay out of there,' Cilan warned, though the pokémon paid him no mind, his tiny claws wrapping around May's sleeping bag.

Watching the pokémon pull items out of May's bag, May sighed, wondering what she should do. She may be friends with Iris, but that didn't mean she was comfortable enough to scold the Unovan pokémon.

Looking away from the pokémon, she let out a nervous chuckle, 'yeah, I feel like the contest circuit has changed a lot since I was last in it, and I can't use my old tricks anymore. They've already been seen, and people are constantly modifying their own moves, so I need to hurry up and find something I can call my own style. With Drew and Dawn not competing, and Solidad and Harley doing who knows what, I'm not sure what I should do.'

Scratching the back of her neck, she admitted, 'back when I was younger, I drew a lot of inspiration from them. It sucks that I'm struggling almost as much as I was back when I was a kid, but I am. It honestly feels like I've unlearned everything I knew, and my rivals are already completing doctorates while I'm just trying to finish school.'

'Well, I can tell you that they're not doing that. If they're anything like Ash and Iris's rivals, they'd be disappointed that you think so lowly of yourself. They recognised you as a rival for a reason, so have some faith in yourself, your pokémon and the appealing flavours you can bring into contests,' Cilan chastised, sending her a disappointed glance.

'But if you do feel that left behind, then practice, experiment and formulate a new method that works for you,' Cilan said as Axew pulled some of May's pots out of her bag, grinning eagerly as they glinted in the light.

'That's easier said than done,' May whispered as Axew continued banging, singing along eagerly.

'Axew! We're trying to have a serious conversation here,' Cilan cried, visibly exasperated, throwing his hands in the air.

In response, the pokémon sent the Unovan a moody glare before promptly banging the pots louder.

'Axew, cut it out!' Cilan said as someone came back into the clearing behind him.

'Seriously, you can't go through people's bags, taking their things and banging them together! Imagine if you did this when Iris is champion? Do you want people to think she can't control her pokémon?' Cilan scowled, confiscating the items from the smaller pokémon.

'Cilan, it's ok,' May called, though her companion didn't look at her, his shoulders hunched as he placed the pots on top of May's bag.

'It's not, though. When Iris is champion, Axew can't go around behaving like this. I know you're excited, Axew, but it's not on,' Cilan continued to scold as the woman in question stomped into the clearing.

Pressing her lips together, May tried to hide her smile at Cilan's words. He may be chastising Axew, but he'd just admitted that he had every bit of faith in Iris that she could become champion.

'Cilan, why are you scolding Axew?' Iris frowned, walking towards Cilan, her brown eyes intent upon the coinnosseur.

'Iris! Ah, Axew went through May's bag and started banging her pots. We were trying to have a serious conversation, and it was too much. Is that something a pokémon from an aspiring champion should do?' Cilan asked, crossing his arms as he glared at Iris.

Blinking, Iris frowned at her pokémon, 'is that true, Axew?'

The dragon type responded by lowering his head, a sure acquiescence of guilt.

'Of course it's true. You really shouldn't let Axew walk around like that if he's not going to behave. You're an aspiring champion, Iris, so your pokémon should know better than to go through someone's things like that. I even asked him not to and he didn't listen,' Cilan said, his expression serious as he faced his Unovan friend, seeming to have forgotten that May was there.

Seeing the defiance in Iris's gaze, May internally winced. She'd seen similar discussions between Ash and Misty and, when Misty had that look on her face it never bode well for Ash Ketchum.

'I like that Axew has character!' Iris retorted, her nostrils flaring as she glared up at the green haired man.

'And normally I like it too, but you need to reconsider how you train him if you're going to be champion. It'll reflect poorly on Unova, but more importantly… it'll reflect poorly on you, and I don't want anyone to have any reason to pick any kind of fight with you,' Cilan said, his voice trembling as he spoke.

His cheeks were visibly red as he looked away from her, his right hand clenched in a fist.

In response, Iris opened and closed her mouth, various emotions flicking across her face, and May couldn't bring herself to move. If she excused herself now, it would only make their conversation more awkward.

Watching her friend, her face contorting with various emotions, it seemed to be a coin toss between frustration and grief. If she were to act on either emotion now, May knew that Iris would definitely regret anything said in haste to Cilan.

Standing up, May hurriedly interjected, 'no harm done, let's just go!'

A/N:

I'm keeping up with updates (though they're early hehe)

Also, apologies if Axew seems a bit out of character here, I had someone make a comment about one of my pets years ago and I wondered if pokemon had similar personality quirks and, since Axew tends to be out of his pokeball I thought he would show this personality trait best :)