Beginning notes: This chapter took the most editing to make (it actually missed the date I promised on the AO3 posting of last chapter, though here, it has been two weeks since it got to AO3 sooner, but that's just trivia at this point), it's because there are a few character interactions I really needed to get right, and I think the chapter as it is now is something really engaging.
A bit of an aside, but Iris leaving and Dawn coming into the tournament is a pretty big showing of favoritism by Studio OLM, especially when she has a developed friendship with Iris that I suppose it's up to me to show that later, although Dawn won't show up in this version of the Masters' Tournament (but not long after!)
IMPORTANT! There is a brief scene of a touchy subject in this chapter, it's not violent, but the words are a bit strong. If nothing phases you, you can skip the rest of these notes if you want to go in completely blind), but if you're less sure, I'll warn you straight up that this...
This chapter contains a scene of racism. Iris deals with it quickly, but it is there, and I've added Trigger Warnings so you can skip it if you wish and you'll just know that it happened without seeing it.
- Chapter starts here. -
The ride wasn't going to be long, but still enough that Iris could do something we was wanting to do before she got there. She searched for something on her Rotom Phone, even though she wouldn't be able to have the volume on.
Chloe performance.
Not what she was looking for.
Chloe performance Kanto.
Still nothing. Did she do it with Dawn?
Chloe performance Sinnoh
Another fail.
Well, time for trial and error.
Chloe performance Johto.
Chloe performance Hoenn.
"Chloe Cerise, Normal Class, Lilycove City."
She saw what she was looking for, so Chloe had performed in Hoenn. What was she doing there?
Iris saw Chloe come out in a pink outfit, and her Eevee was doing all sorts of moves with the move Copycat. Did it specialize in using that?
"It was a pleasant surprise. I hope more things like that happen to her." Goh said, looking over her shoulder.
"I actually think it was cool how your Eevee just used Copycat the whole time, that's a neat gimmick. By the way, is the Lisia that's in the next video suggested, the daughter of Wallace? Steven told me that she's a fan of me." Iris noted.
"Yeah, that's her. I'll ask her about you the next time I message her. She was actually the reason I did that, she threw me into the contest because she was trying to fulfill a recruiting quota or something like that." Chloe responded. "I met a very good friend there, I mean, another good friend aside from Lisia, but I fear I'd become a mini-version of her if I kept doing it since she took quite an interest in me, she's all into being inspirational and all that."
"Oh, that type. Yeah, I find those people kind of cheesy, but it does seem you're the type she'd want to take action for. That said, everyone does things differently, so I wouldn't worry about that if I were you."
"Even when I can only use Copycat?"
"Even when you can only use Copycat." Iris said back. "That contest seemed like a start, and that seems to be what you need." Iris noted, thinking about how meeting Excadrill as a Dribbler kind of gave her a "start" in battling and comparing it to that performance. "However you ended up placing, and I've heard it's a bit fickle, you just have to throw yourself into it, constantly do it, and then there will be a time when you realize you're pretty good at it! When I beat this guy named Trip at the League Conference Finals, Haxorus just sent his Serperior flying, I began realizing I could make it to Alder, though I admit, I still had a weird feeling where I almost felt I was dreaming when I beat him."
"I just don't want to deal with trying to please everyone, and that's what you're struggling now with, isn't it? Seems to me you'd recommend not getting into that situation if I don't have to" Chloe responded.
"Well it's not that EVERYONE has to like me, I just don't want to be a champion that nobody in the region wants. And you won't be in school forever."
"I am for now." Chloe said, appearing to not be too invested in the conversation.
"You know, when I was in school, I hated it. It can't be exactly like your school, but the activities themselves must have similarities."
"It's hard to describe it. As you know, my father is a Pokémon Professor, so I've always been known as the Professor's daughter. But the school has been the one thing where that hasn't forcibly shaped me, where I didn't have to constantly be dealing with Pokémon, and remember that I didn't like them until recently. People still asked me about it, but I could read and learn about other things. So, it was my true happy place for a long time. And while I like Pokémon now, don't get me wrong, my feelings linger." Chloe appeared like she had given similar statements many times in the past.
"That's a bit ironic if we compare situations. The school I was going to, was tailored to Dragon Pokémon, it was supposed to be right up my alley, but I just felt alone and unsupported, and spending my days doing that just didn't feel right." Iris said, wishing her memories and feelings about them were happier.
"You didn't like constantly sucking up new information?"
"Knowing Pokémon skeleton structures won't help me much in a battle. Sounds like stuff someone would start talking about to confuse their opponent in battle, which I don't want to do."
"I'm sure it would help!" Chloe said with determination.
"Has it helped you?" Iris said, leaning in, wondering if this answer would be interesting.
"I haven't really done one on ones." Chloe clarified.
"Of course." Iris said, keeping herself from chuckling that it was just an assumption.
"I'm sure if you tried it again, you'd do much better. Often, when something is hard to learn, it's because you have very little idea what it really is and thus can't conceptualize it very well." Chloe said,
"I just don't think I fit that concept as well as you do." Iris said with a degree of finality.
"We're so different, you know that?" Chloe noticed.
"As different as Reshiram and Zekrom." Iris said.
"Wait, so you do know about the legends?" Chloe asked, seeing some irony in Iris not seeming to be much of a reader but referencing them.
"I've met both of them. A real jerk used Reshiram, long story, so Ash had to team up with Zekrom." Iris said, hoping she wouldn't have to quickly give that whole story.
"Oh, right, you've traveled with Ash." Chloe said, starting to chuckle at how bizarre his adventures were.
"Yeah, is he still a magnet to those Legendary Pokémon?"
"Actually, when I first met Dawn, when we linked up with Ash and Goh, we saw Cresselia soon afterward."
"Well," Iris surmised, "I guess one thing for sure between us is that we're caught in the adventures of Ash Ketchum."
"Yes, we are. Indeed, we are." Chloe said.
Perhaps noting they ended on somewhat of a good note, despite how awkward things were before that, they were silent for the rest of the ride. Goh was disappointed he couldn't think of something to add while the conversation was going.
The train stopped. They were there.
"I'm watching Diantha vs Leon in the Champions' box, but will watch Ash with you." Iris explained.
"I figured." Goh said with a very expected expression."
"And Chloe, someone who inspired me a huge amount also struggled with who his father was, except his father was one of the evilest humans in this world. But despite the circumstances, he absolutely differentiated himself from his father, and he's the bravest man I know. So just know that people have been through worse, so I think you should be confident you'll do that, too. Ash and I will tell you about N sometime. Unlike Lisia and that other friend, I won't make you do anything, but think about what I've said." And then she walked away.
"I can tell she means well," Chloe began, turning to Goh, "But she's really annoying."
"Yeah, she kind of is," Goh responded, "But she does have a good soul. Just, not in the same way as Dawn and Serena."
Making her way to the Champions' box, Iris saw that Ash had been talking with Leon
"Ash!"
"Good you're here. I want to let you both know, I watched a recording of your battle in Nimbasa City. Ash, I liked the bravado of using an electric type against a ground type!"
"He was a total kid for doing it!" Iris said, giggling
"It would have given me a lot of bragging rights if I pulled it off" Ash said, doing his trademark "finger on the nose" motion.
"Ash, you should watch from here!"
"But Iris-"
"Just this once?"
"…Okay."
"Alright! But I'm going to talk to Diantha before she goes off." She said, running away
Ash quickly messaged Goh
-I'm watching Diantha v Leon from the Champ box
-I figured
-We'll get them to talk after both matches
- Definitely
Cynthia was there, leaning against a wall.
"So Ash, how do you think it'll go?"
"I don't like saying how I think a match will go…"
"That's probably smartest way to do that. I don't, either."
Iris ran to the tunnel, full-speed. She sure hoped that no-one was walking in that tunnel because she wouldn't be able to see them in time.
Diantha was there, not being particularly animated, but definitely in thought.
"Here it is, Diantha! The toughest battle you've done up to this point!" Iris began with.
"It's nerve-wracking, really. It feels like my whole life is on the line here!" Diantha said, not scared but not with excitement either.
"Well, it is a six on six, so you'll have more time to figure out what he's doing. He showed during his match with Alain that he has more options than Gigantamaxing his Charizard, so you'll have to keep your eyes out for what he pulls on you!"
"Wow Iris, you really are into this stuff!" Diantha said, surprised by Iris' observation.
Iris didn't want to talk technicalities, Diantha knew how to battle, so she began to speak a bit more sentimentally…
"I haven't known you personally for much time, obviously, but do know that I've looked up to you for a long time, and the result of this match sure isn't going to change that." Iris began.
"Aww, I'm glad I reached your heart quickly." Diantha responded.
"Heh, it's not as hard as people make it out to be" Iris said with a cocky smirk.
"Well, I won't lose so I don't break that faith you have in me. It would be a shame if I did." Diantha said with her own smirk.
Iris liked hearing that. "And they say I'm the champion with the bravado!"
"I'm stealing some of that for today." Diantha said, still smiling
"No, I gift it to you for the day!" Iris retorted.
They would have kept going on, but suddenly, Diantha's expression changed.
"It's time for my performance." She said, losing a lot of the emotion.
"Go get 'em." Iris finished with, watching Diantha walk out, and she herself soon returned to the Champions' Box.
…
The odds were stacked against Diantha from the beginning, but Iris still felt bad for Diantha. Leon's Rilaboom defeating most of her team? Talk shows would have a heyday. Leon didn't even need his Charizard to win, it seemed like.
Iris announced, in a way that made it seem like she was speaking to all of them, but really, it was to Ash,
"I'm going to meet her at the tunnel." she announced.
"What about me?" Ash said, innocently enough to not announce they were a couple, but he was actually beginning to get tired of hiding it.
"I'll get to you, don't worry!" Iris responded, trying to sound confident.
She noted that Cynthia her after that, but didn't have time to assess the situation entirely. Diantha needed her more.
Going to the tunnel, Diantha wasn't super down on herself, though she did lack energy.
"…Well, that's that." Diantha began
"That makes two of us." Iris noted, speaking a bit softer than she usually would.
"Only one can win. It'll happen to all of us." Diantha pointed out.
"Yeah, but it still leaves a nasty scar, doesn't it?"
"Scars disappear."
"…Yeah. I guess." Iris responded, knowing now wasn't the time to debate, but she still felt the Cilan and Cynthia scars on her soul. "Let's walk back."
They quietly started on their way back.
"Shouldn't you get back to Ash? There isn't a lot of time between matches."
Uh-oh.
She wasn't going to get to him in time. This was bad. She usually didn't feel too bad for missing something because of something else, but, obviously, he was special.
What do I do? She thought to herself. But then she got an idea. It was kind of silly, but it was pretty much her only option. Cynthia had just started to leave, and when they passed her by,
"Hey Cynthia, can you tell Ash I wish him the best of luck and that I apologize for not getting there, and that every fiber of my being wants him to win? I can't get to him. Thanks!" She said, quickly walking away before Cynthia could say anything. Cynthia would do that, wouldn't she?
She felt her stomach turn a bit while she ran. Hopefully, she'd reach him and Ash would already know when Cynthia told him.
Meanwhile, Ash was stunned.
Where was she?
Was this…anxiety? Couldn't be from the match, he was itching to face Cynthia for a couple of years now. Was he really letting Iris not being there get to his head?
He began doing the deep breaths thing his mother had often told him about when he was younger, albeit he didn't understand the point of it. But it was better then nothing.
"Pika?" Pikachu looked up to him in concern. Ash decided to let the other mons have some time in their balls before the action, let them prepare in peace.
"I'm fine Pikachu. I'll worry about it afterwards. But I can't go into this distracted."
A voice came from afterwards, except, it definitely wasn't Iris. Or Goh or Chloe.
"Ash? Are you still here?"
Ash turned around.
Black hair, a pink dress under a leather jacket, this was the girl he faced in the Ultra Class, Marnie.
"Marnie?"
"In the flesh. I figured this was the best place to find you and that I wouldn't find you afterward. Funny that we've only been near each other at this stadium."
"Heh, you startled me. I'm surprised you didn't bring all of your brothers' underlings with you."
"I figured you weren't eager to see them again, so I told the ones with me to stay put. Trust me, I punished them for that stunt."
"I'm glad you don't let them just do anything. Why did you go out of your way to find me here?"
"Well, that's the thing, I wanted to let you know that, as an apology, Team Yell might be doing something for you in the stands, though my brother was pretty vague about it."
"It's fine, they don't have to do anything for me, I get that they thought they were being good to you and I can understand the principle of that, even if I hate the execution of it."
"They're pretty eager about it now, unfortunately. And, I just want to thank you for helping me revive interest in Spikemuth. This was the only place I could be sure to find you."
"Sorry to hear about your loss to Alain that kept you out of this."
"Well, my Grimmsnarl doesn't match up well against Gmax Charizard, so I wouldn't get much further then him."
"Don't sell yourself short!"
"I just don't like makin' promises to myself that I can't keep. Oh, but anyway, I was able to kind of work in a way to swallow Pokémon, like your Gengar does, I have a new one that can kinda do that."
"Really?" Ash laughed. "I'm always glad to see somebody getting more creative, it's always helped me. Anyway, thanks for the chat, but I have to-"
"Well, one more thing. Win or lose, could…we do something together tonight?
Ash's eyes widened more then it had ever been.
"I just…admire how you can just own the situation and just get the admiration of everyone you come across, and I'd like to get to kno-
"Marnie, I…can't. I just have other things. Let's stop there and not make things difficult."
"Not even a chance?"
"I'm sorry. See you and Piers around, if the Spikemuth Gym needs anything, let me know. Goodbye."
Ash just ran into the area just beyond the gate, where nobody could bother him. If Iris came, he would explain later.
Pikachu had been playing with Morpeko, but after seeing the commotion, said "Pika." in a sorrowful tone and after getting a nod from Morpeko, ran with him.
"Pika-pi." Pikachu said to Ash in a disapproving tone.
"She'll understand."
Iris finally got into the hallway, but almost ran into a dark-haired girl who was somewhat solemnly walking back.
"You're Iris, right? Yeah, I saw you face Cynthia. Anyway, If you're lookin' for Ash, don't bother. He went into the battlers-only area in between here and the field."
"Why would he go there when there's still three minutes?"
"Well, I met him before this and…kinda shot my shot, but, it didn't go as well as I hoped it would.
Beat.
Iris didn't know what to do.
"Uh…"
"I couldn't find him before," the girl said. "and I wasn't sure I'd catch him afterwards. He goes around with that dark haired friend of his all over the place."
"Well, sorry to hear about that. Guess he wants someone else, if he just shut you down, judging by the fact that he secluded himself."
"Yeah." Marnie said, solemnly.
"I don't think we can lure him out, that little kid, so we might as well walk back to the stands. I'm not going to say that he's unjustified doing that, but he knew I was coming!"
"It's my fault. Call me that, not him. I'm Marnie, by the way."
There wasn't much use in trying to get to Ash now, especially if they didn't want to reveal their relationship to this Marnie person.
So they started walking back, there was just enough time left that they didn't need to run.
"I envy you. You're the champion of Unova while I'm just…another trainer."
"But you battled Ash in the PWC?"
"Yeah, Ultra Class, I got to 21st, though my highest rank was 14th before Alain sent me up at the end."
"That's really freaking good!"
"But it ain't good enough." Marnie said.
"Well, cherish the time nobody cares when you lose while you can. I hated losing in the past, and it's even worse as a Champion, because it makes you look unworthy."
"I don't get why you types always act like it's such a terrible thing to be. Literally, everyone else wants is tryin' to get where you're at."
"I'm not saying it's not worth it, just that there is a lot of BS to deal with. Do you care about funding? I have to constantly lobby for that stuff for various League activities, it's quite tiresome, and now I have to figure out how to save this school I once went to after this is all done. I also have to be a spokesperson and resist the urge not to be incredibly snarky during press releases. There's also a bunch of weird events I have to go to because my predecessor made them traditions or something."
"So you don't like that you have to restrain yourself from being a smartass."
"That was low!"
"Well, to answer your question, my town of Spikemuth was strugglin', nobody was going, businesses werern't gettin' business, yada yada yada, so I kind of know how the money stuff works."
"Wait, that's why you entered the PWC?"
"I kinda felt forced to."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. A town close to my heart is struggling in that way, and I'll have to fight for it as well."
"Really? It stinks places have to suffer because they ain't Castelia or Wyndon."
"Right. Places that aren't the megacities have worth, too." Iris spoke, intrigued by this common ground she had with Marnie.
They reached the last set of stairs, that went in two directions.
"This is goodbye, I gotta take the other ones, That's where my brother Piers is. I'll see you around."
Iris so wanted to tell Marnie about she and Ash, but brushed it aside for now and began heading to where Goh was.
..
..
..
-TRIGGER WARNING, SKIP TO THE NEXT SERIES OF PERIODS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE NEXT PART-
..
..
..
However, as she was heading up and exited the staircase, three people wearing punk clothes and pink makeup stood in her way. For some reason, nobody else was around.
"Yo, we saw you with Marnie, we don't let anyone disrespect her!"
"I have no idea what's happening, but we had a pleasant conversation, so can you get out of my way? I need to watch the match!" Iris said, not having the time for another conversation.
"We like Ash too! Bad people like you shouldn't be able to watch matches like that." Were these people looking for a fight for some reason?
"What the hell is with Galar? Look, if you want something, there are people who are hired who can help. Move."
"We don't need their help to make you leave, you Jynx!" one of them shout out.
"What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me?"
"Your Golliwog skin makes you look more like a Jynx than a human." The woman on the right said.
"I know both of those are slurs in Galar, and you just messed with the wrong black woman." Anger started to consume Iris.
Out came Haxorus.
Haxorus growled and roared at the three. The three sent out a Nickit, a white and black Zigzagoon that must have been a regional variant, and a Sableye, but Haxorus swiftly defeated them all with one Dragon Pulse.
"If you have a problem with people whose skin is darker than yours, just know that this one is better than you all ever will be!"
They turned around and ran away. Iris was glad nobody saw it, she had no idea how she'd respond in a "champion-like manner".
Haxorus apologized to Iris that she had to go through that.
Iris started taking deep breaths. She let the anger get out, because she knew someone else would feel it if she didn't.
After a few minutes, she could unclench her fists. Haxorus looked worried.
"It's…It's a part of the job, I guess. I've seen worse. Let's go." She said, keeping her face straight, returning Haxorus and making her way to where Goh was. She was glad she kept a brave face against them, but it's always hard to deal with being treated as not human.
Leaving the tunnel, she saw Goh and Chloe looking absolutely bewildered. Well, someone did see it, but they would understand
"We thought we could catch Ash, but…Iris, I…I'm sorry that happened to you." Goh said
"I can't imagine what that must have been like," Chloe added.
"It's whatever. Let's go. Ash isn't available now, long story."
"Those people work for someone we know, Marnie and her brother, Piers," Goh stated. "After the match, we can tell Ash to tell them about it, those two aren't like that."
"I actually met Marnie and know she isn't like that, but, I actually need you two to promise not to tell anyone about this, so I can just go to Marnie and keep it from being public so she can deal with it without anyone knowing."
"Iris…you seem so…on top of it right now." Chloe said.
"It's not my first time, unfortunately, so I know I just have to deal with it."
"How can you be so strong right now?"
"When you're the champion of Unova, Chloe, you pretty much have to face all problems head-on. Nobody else can or should help me. The match is about to start, so let's go to Hop."
"I'm not the same ethnicity you are, Hop and Leon are that too, and it doesn't originate from the same continent, but as someone who always had different-looking skin than everyone else in Kanto, I really feel for you."
"Thanks, Goh, but I don't need any hugs. Like I said, let's go to Hop." She was trying really hard to not say Just fucking walk already.
"Someone else is joining us today, actually. You'll see soon." Goh added.
"Oh…" responded an interested Iris, as everyone she met here was interesting.
..
..
..
-TRIGGER WARNING ENDS HERE. Iris is reunited with Goh and Chloe, and they went to their seats.—
..
..
..
There was an orange-haired woman sitting with Hop when they got there.
"Oh, my name is Sonia, Hop and, well, now Goh has invited me. I hope I'm not messing anything up by being here." She said.
You know what, Iris thought, I can't let that bring my whole day down and resolved to joke around a bit here. In that moment, Goh further introduced Sonia.
"Well, she invited herself, but she's buds with Leon and Hop, and there's otherwise no saying no to her." Goh clarified.
"Friends with Leon?"
"Childhood friends." Sonia said with a smile.
"Well, I figure you somehow have experience with Ash like everyone else does, so I can't complain here."
"Oh, I was just with Ash, I actually gave him a ride here!"
She knew Ash went away from the Rose after her dust-up with Chloe, but did he go far away?
"Why did he need a ride?"
"He didn't, I just insisted." She said with a laugh.
"I'm jealous it happened in Wyndon, he still doesn't know what I went through with you in the Wild Area!" Goh interjected.
"What was he doing?" Iris questioned.
"I have a feeling he wants to be the one to tell you that. Er, all of you, I should say." She said with a smirk. Iris didn't know why she was so focused on her instead of Goh or Chloe, whom she seemed to have already known.
Just then, the announcer gave the intro of how the battles were 6v6 and one gimmick could be used and all of those rules that Iris already knew, and then Ash sent out his Dragonite, and Cynthia sent out…Spiritomb?
"That's weird, Dragonite is all power, Spiritomb doesn't match up well against that, it's all about utility and setting up for allies. Perhaps Cynthia is going to burn Dragonite?" Sonia noted.
"Whatever it is, she's planning on something weird, but Ash doesn't think about that stuff…" Iris responded, knowing how Ash's mentality is that he'll figure something out when it happens.
Ash called for Draco Meteor, but Cynthia had her Spiritomb use Shadow Sneak to stop it.
"Wow! Kind of dirty!" Chloe said
"Actually, everyone other than Ash does stuff like that" Iris noted.
Dragonite did pull off her Draco Meteor, but Spiritomb tanked the attack and used hypnosis, then started using Dream Eater.
"Return her, Ash!" Iris tried to scream, but there was no chance he would hear anyone in the stands with how loud the stadium was.
Dragonite did not wake up, and feinted as a result.
"Ugh…What a kid." Iris said, somewhat slumping while Sonia laughed.
"There's the status move I was trying to figure out. Iris, something on your mind?" She said
"No, no, I…guess I'm being stressed out a little just by watching, heh." Iris responded, not being able to completely sweep what had just happened away, but she was still into this match.
"Well, there's still five mons left for him."
"Yeah, of course! I just hope he remembers he can switch out his Pokémon."
"You're as pushy as I thought you'd be."
"You can call me Miss Pushy! In fact, I sometimes feel my Dragonite calling me that."
Sonia laughed "You're funnier than I thought you would be."
Sonia's humor was not what Iris was expecting, but it was nice to be talking to someone that wasn't a reporter, champion, or bratty sixteen-year-old for a change. Maybe this was what she needed.
Ash then sent out Gengar, but it was quickly taken out. At the very least, it was able to burn Roserade when Cynthia tried to send it out before she recalled it and went back to Spiritomb. 4-6 now.
How fast this was going, confused Iris. Did Cynthia go easy on her? None of Excadrill, Dragonite, or Haxorus were taken down that quickly.
"Things aren't looking good for Ash" Hop said.
"The battle has just started, though!" Goh said, always optimistic for Ash.
"Ash likes to try a bunch of things out and see if any of them work. And in a full battle, he still has a lot of room to work around. I wouldn't call this battle over yet!" Iris just knew Ash would be the one to pull it off. His team had so many options, Cynthia couldn't account for them all!
Luckily, Pikachu then defeated Gastrodon (a ground type he actually beat!), and Iris knew Spiritomb had taken too much damage to pose a threat to Pika as well.
Pikachu did land a decisive Iron Tail on it.
"And Ash can still use the Z-move! That takes out any of her Pokémon that aren't ground types, and I doubt she has more than Garchomp and Gastrodon today! It's basically even now!"
Iris felt very rejuvenated seeing this. Obviously, proud as his secret girlfriend (she was now really wanted to tell people, but she knew it would be better to wait until this was over), but feelings aside, she had understood that Ash was actually in a bit of a slump battling-wise when he was in Unova, so this was full confirmation that he was long over it.
Iris also noticed that a group of people in makeup like the three she had dealt with earlier were cheering with Ash, which also included Marnie. Those three did indicate that they were associated with Marnie, and Iris was going to let her know that there were a few racists in that crew. She herself was extremely unsettled at racists supporting Ash, but she knew she just couldn't do anything about it at the moment. Iris then noticed the three were still there and clenched her fist. After the match, she was going to Ash for congratulations, then she was going to tell Marnie.
Iris then noticed that in the split second she was thinking that, a black energy came from Spiritomb's unconscious body and enveloped Pikachu. Destiny Bond. It took him with it.
"That's…kind of dirty." Iris said.
"She fought you very honestly, Iris, but here, she put Dragonite to sleep, tried to keep flinching Pikachu, and now used Destiny Bond." Hop said.
"She must be trying to prove some sort of point," Chloe said. "I mean, there must be some sort of statement given when if she wins and she beat Ash and you in different ways. I think." She said, gesturing towards Iris when she said "you."
"Vui!" her Eevee said, sitting patiently on her lap but a little distraught at what had happened to Pikachu.
Iris wanted to put her face into her lap, but she needed to see this through. It wouldn't be good if she told Ash she couldn't watch the thing if he pulled out a win.
Iris got an idea. Seeing Goh with Grookey, and Chloe with her Eevee, Iris sent out Emolga and well, made it sit on her lap after it tried getting on her head.
"Sorry Emolga, but I don't want you sitting on my head!"
Emolga made a pouty face and turned around, although it gave off a scream seeing Ash carry Pikachu back.
"I know, Emolga, life just isn't fair. Especially when battling Cynthia." Iris told her flying-electric mon.
"Hey, have some faith in Ash. He may have only three, but she just has four now!"
"Sure." Iris said.
Sonia and Goh gave concerned looks.
Now, it was Garchomp vs Dracovish. Iris just knew that Garchomp would conveniently have Dragon Pulse to keep it away, she herself had beaten it by keeping it away from Haxorus when Ash and she had faced off.
It didn't really happen that way, but Cynthia just used that Garchomp just to put down Stealth Rock, then returned it and called Roserade, whose ability removed its burn. It made sense to save her for later, Iris supposed.
Roserade then poisoned Dracovish, and Iris couldn't take it anymore.
This is just like when Cameron's Hydreigon beat down Boldore and Oshawatt…He didn't have a way to win after that.
She had this weird feeling. She…didn't want to see him get beat. Why was she feeling this way? Her hands began to shake. She just couldn't be there. She not only saw how bad it was going for Ash, but it also remembered her of her failure.
"I can't watch this, I can't watch him get beat." And she stormed off. She did it quietly enough that it didn't attract attention, but the others were shocked.
"Mol?" Emolga questioned
"Return, I don't have time to deal with you."
But Emolga dodged the Poke ball, and simply rubbed her cheek against Iris.
"I wish I could say it's helping. But it isn't." she said, tears starting to roll down.
There was a vibration coming out of her belt.
She was covering her eyes, but soon felt the embrace of something. It wasn't a human.
She knew who it was, but she still didn't believe herself until she opened her eyes.
Haxorus.
Her hands stopped shaking. The headache stopped.
"You do everything for me. You know that?
"Hax." It was hard for Haxorus to smile but Iris knew when he was trying.
It told her to remember how she wouldn't let anything happen to it when it was an Axew. How she let it fight the Genies, and then Cynthia's Garchomp even when it had no chance, just because she was willing to take a chance with him. When she spent all day looking for it at the Vertress Conference.
"Oh, Haxorus, you're the best Pokémon a girl could ask for." And continued being in his embrace, the tears becoming happy.
But then, he put her down, and nodded towards the seats.
"You're right, I need to be there for him, no matter what happens."
"Mol?" Emolga, who had been on Haxorus' head, said questioningly
"Of course, you can still watch too!"
Haxorus simply waved as she returned him, and she and Emolga went back to the seats. Sirfetch'd was facing off Garchomp. Things would be tough, but Iris would be cheering them on.
"Sorry everyone, I just needed a minute. What did I miss?
"So, Dracovish was actually able to take out Roserade." Sonia said.
Wait, Dracovish pulled through? She looked at the screen, Roserade and Milotic were blacked out.
"Her Milotic's been defeated?"
"Milotic did defeat Dracovitch, but Sirfetch'd managed to take it out after that, and here we are."
Her episode had kind of been for nothing. Sure, Dracovish was now out, but things were even now.
Sirfetch'd and Garchomp ended up rushing towards each other, but unfortunately for Ash, Garchomp got the hit in, although she did take a knee afterward, so Sirfetch'd must have managed to "scrape" her.
Sirfetch'd didn't fall down to the ground, though. It remained standing.
"A true knight…" Iris said.
"Emolga!" Emolga was very impressed by the bravery of Sirfetch'd.
Goh's Grookey and Chloe's Eevee also gave shouts of approval, it looked like Sirfetch'd had won the respect of many fellow Pokémon with that.
Cynthia returned the Ground Mistress of Death.
"Iris, have you beaten two mons with one left before?"
"Plenty of time. In fact, that's what happened the first time I beat Grimsley. And, Ash has a little something extra here. And, no offense to the Togekiss species, this one won't be an issue to Lucario, a few Bullet Punches will do it in."
"Yeah, Togekiss is a Fairy-type while Bullet-Punch is a Steel attack, so that makes sense," Chloe noted.
"I'm so glad you're starting to learn those type matchups, Chloe!" Goh teasingly said.
"Yeah, and actually everyone else, I had to remind him that putting Grookey against a Muk was a really bad idea" she teased back.
"Ah, uh, I was just testing you there…" He said embarrassingly, as everyone else laughed.
"This is all I have left! Let's use our full power! Lucario, I choose you!" Ash said over the mic, as energetic as ever despite how nerve-wracking the entire match had been.
Lucario came out, ready to fight.
Goh's Cinderace came out, ready to cheer on Lucario, and gave a cry.
Iris was surprised by that, but imagine her face when Haxorus came out.
"I think you're a little too big for this!"
Haxorus just sat down on the concrete in front of the seats.
"I guess that works."
Both Haxorus and Cinderace cried out, and Ash actually seemed to notice that, Pikachu called out and Ash turned to Iris and mouthed something. Iris wasn't sure what that was.
Cynthia sent out Togekiss.
"Iris, why do you think Cynthia switched out Garchomp in the first place?" Sonia asked
"She must be thinking she can still whittle down Lucario a bit so Garchomp will have the easiest time."
"That's…cold to basically sacrifice Togekiss like that." Sonia said, a bit solemnly.
"She's been playing dirty like this the whole match, I'm afraid." Iris echoed from earlier.
As they expected, Lucario hit Togekiss a few times with Bullet-Punch, but then Cynthia did something that left Iris dumbfounded.
She revealed a Dynamax wrist device and Dynamaxed Togekiss.
"She didn't Mega-Evolve her Garchomp! Is this supposed to be some kind of flex, Iris?"
"I…don't know what she's thinking, but we'll see."
It was a really tough fight. Togekiss landed many giant hits on Lucario, but Lucario did prevail.
"Didn't seem worth it to me." Chloe noted. "Now it's just regular Garchomp against a Mega Lucario."
"No, look." Iris responded. Lucario was a bit slumped over. "What I said earlier still stands. Togekiss did soften up Lucario considerably, and Garchomp in base, is actually faster than when it Mega-Evolves. It won't take much for Garchomp to defeat Lucario now. Ash has to do this fast."
"You are a champion. I admit, I thought she was throwing, but that makes sense." Sonia said, impressed at the analysis.
"She wouldn't throw." Iris then smiled. "But I still think Ash will win."
It was a slugfest. Usually, trainers try to do some fancy move, but, perhaps because they were tired from earlier, Lucario and Garchomp just repeatedly punched each other with their fists and claws, respectively.
But, Lucario did win! It was close, but Lucario was the one that remained standing.
"Hax!"
"Cin!"
"Mol!
"Vui!
"Grook!"
All the Pokémon watching with them were celebrating.
Ash's five spectators all gave the celebratory high-fives and such, Iris realized the media would likely pick up on it now but, that was life for her now.
The Pokémon did some sort of celebration, Although Haxorus was annoyed he couldn't stand up yet.
When Ash went up to Cynthia, He started speaking in the language they spoke in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, then he turned off his mic, causing everyone to wonder what they were talking about.
"He said 'Now, what was it tha- darn,' before he turned off the mic." Goh noted. "There must have been some sort of bet between them."
"I didn't know Cynthia did bets." Chloe said, a bit surprised.
"…I'm going to Ash now!" Iris burst out, returning Haxorus and Emolga, bewildering the others. Except for Goh.
Iris ran to the gate, where both Ash and Cynthia had exited the same side from.
Iris ran and hugged Ash, making Pikachu jump to Cynthia, causing her to chuckle as she petted Pikachu's head.
"Cute!" Cynthia began.
"It's not what it looks like!" Iris said.
"Well Iris, Cynthia has something to apologize for," Ash said, perhaps killing two birds with one stone by also stopping any talk about them.
"Huh?" Iris was startled by this; Ash usually spoke very plainly.
"I…told him that you had something to say, but I'd only say it if he beat me."
So it wasn't a bet. Iris walked up to Cynthia and glared. Ash noted that Cynthia took a step back with her left foot.
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal…of course he knows you were rooting for him. That's what he was asking about at the end." Cynthia said in defense. Pikachu jumped down to the ground.
"It's different. Okay? You pretty much lied to me." Iris shouted back.
"It wasn't like that! You should know that." As with most people, Cynthia did not like being called a liar.
"How is it not? You tell me, so-called famed archeologist…"
Just then, Diantha came strolling in, apparently having a plan (much to Ash's relief, he wasn't sure if Cynthia would let Iris get away with saying that last part).
"Say, Iris, Cynthia, say we do an impromptu podcast. "'The unfortunate women who were all beat down by men in a twisted action by fate'"
"Let's call it something else, but that sounds fun. Though, after our press conferences. And by the way, Iris wasn't beaten by a guy." Cynthia said, after staring at Iris for a few seconds, perhaps considering saying something back.
"Well…" Iris said, unsure of how to get out of this.
"Go ahead, I'll figure something out. And I have to speak to the press as well." Ash said, giving the trademark smile, completely getting the wrong idea that she wanted to do that.
"… all right." Iris said. The two older women were not going to take "no." At least she had a bit of time while they did those press conferences (which she realized, which was an "unfortunately" for her since that was another display of her loss).
Diantha had just gotten a call, "Actually, Leon just finished his, so it's my turn. Check your Rotom Phones for updates."
Cynthia left as well, saying she was going to meditate for a bit, she wasn't used to speaking after a loss and losing interest in sparring with Iris.
"Not as tough as you look…" Iris said under her breath.
So, it was just Ash and Iris, though they did not have long.
"You probably shouldn't pick a fight like that with her."
"I know. I just couldn't help myself that time." The incident earlier must still be reeling a little on her, even though she had mostly shaken it off. Again, Iris had decided she would not let that ruin her day
There was a bit of a beat, Iris decided to say what she was intending on before the others appeared.
"I tried to get to you, but that Marnie girl stopped me and I didn't want to spill to her, though I'm thinking we need to make it public now." Iris decided not to talk about the people working for Marnie, she could see there was a whole group of them and didn't want to color the entire group because of a few bad apples, she would sort it out between just her and Marnie.
"Yeah, that was one heck of a curveball, but all of you trainer girls are bold." Ash said, still a bit shocked it had happened.
Iris wanted to take his hand but knew she could not, in case they saw anyone. Gah, why didn't they just post something on the day of?
"I'm proud of you."
Ash smiled.
"But it was a little kid move to not recall Dragonite at the beginning there."
Ash scoffed.
"But still pretty good." She continued.
"Yep. I'm not escaping the kid thing."
Iris smiled. Calling him a kid had always been fun, and it looked like it still would be.
"But hey, don't forget, seventh place is really good too."
"You're not very experienced at this charming thing." Iris said, smirking.
"But you're still smirking." Ash said, almost putting his arm around her before realizing not to.
"I guess we can call it a first step. Or should I say, baby step?" Iris quipped back, pleased with herself she thought of that last part.
"Walked right into that one, I guess." Ash slumped a bit as he said that.
After a beat, there was something Ash was wanting to ask Iris.
"Well, my next step is, I really like the purple of your hair."
"It's funny because it's a pain to comb and curl and everything else, but I'd just look so weird if I cut it short, so I just have to figure it out."
"I think you'd look cute with short hair."
"Here we go again. Baby step two and three." She said with a sigh but make no mistake, she loved hearing all of that, she just liked teasing him. Though she wasn't cutting it.
"At least your body language loved hearing them."
"Touché, I just wish you weren't so cheesy sometimes," Iris said. Then, after a deep breath, and again decided that she wouldn't bring up those three with him, she then turned to him and said "What do you think I'm lacking in battle?"
Ash was a bit taken aback by the question. Quite the 180 from calling him cheesy. "It's hard to tell, I think beating Cynthia is just hard, so I'm not taking too much out of your performance there. And you did get her down to just one Pokémon!"
"Well, I lost to you before that."
"That was because you had your Dragonite rush into Dracovish's Ice Fang after it was doing very well. So maybe, if I had to say something, maybe you're too aggressive against the people who you don't have a massive power advantage over. And by the way, when you caught Duraluden, notice how you finished not with a punch, but with a Flamethrower from distance? Do that more."
"…Yeah. Guess you're right. You're in the finals after all." was all Iris could say to that.
"And hey, you're still the Unova Champion and would beat ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the trainers in the world."
"That point-zero-zero-one percent pisses me off."
"I've always been impressed by that competitiveness." He said, patting her on the back. Almost kissed her on the cheek but restrained himself for the moment. He decided to reroute the conversation since there wasn't much more that he could say about it. "I take it Cilan has been watching? Has he been messaging you? Any messages to me? Any thoughts on how I've battled?"
He noticed Iris briefly move her eyes away and look a bit startled.
"Uh, I actually haven't talked to him since this began. You know, all of this…stuff, and the one chance I've had for a call, you remember I had to call Drayden earlier."
"Yeah, I get it. I haven't talked to my mom yet, on a similar note."
"Yeah. On a similar note, has Dawn been watching?" On Iris' end, she had decided that she could use Dawn to talk around Cilan until she had enough time to fully explain the situation with Ash.
Ash himself noted the subject change. Why did she do that? That was odd, Cilan was like her older brother. But there wasn't time to figure out why.
"Well, I actually have seen her a few times lately, something involving Cresselia, later, we went to a different universe that had counterparts of us, and then we battled Team Galactic again like we did when I was first in Sinnoh, but I likewise haven't gotten a chance to speak to her while this has been going on."
"Chloe actually mentioned Cresselia to me earlier. Why didn't you call me for any of that?"
"There wasn't time in any of those to wait for you to come over. There will be a next time. Didn't you see her at all when she was doing the Unova contest circuit?"
"Wait, Dawn was in Unova for an extended period of time?"
"Chloe said that's what she told her."
"Well, I didn't see her then. I haven't seen her since the World Tournament Junior Cup, actually."
"Well, I'm sure you and her will meet again. We did, after all."
"True!"
Ash was a bit concerned at what he saw at one point when he was glancing to where she and the others were. But that was also for later, when the two were more alone. Oh, and the gifts. He was excited about that. He was also excited when they got to everyone else. He knew how to lighten the mood.
"You know, you call me cheesy, but that little kid thing is the cheesiest thing ever, especially you saying it at nineteen years old."
"It is not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
They said that to each other a few times until they realized they were at their destination, causing their friends to laugh
"Hey, it was for something important. Anyway, good to see you again Sonia!" Ash was surprised when he saw her with them during his match, but it would make sense she and Hop would be together.
"Great job recovering from the early losses, Ash!" The professor praised.
"I have to think Sirfetch'd for that." He always put it on his Pokémon.
"Vui!" Chloe's Eevee shouted out.
"I'm glad he gained the respect of his fellow Pokémon!" Ash didn't want to commit it out loud, but Sirfetch'd refusing to hit the ground was probably in his top five moments of what his Pokémon had done, even if it was because it lost.
"Don't forget about Dracovish." Goh added.
"Definitely, I wonder what would have happened if it had hit Garchomp with that Ice Fang." Ash pointed out.
"Well, because of them, you won! Anyway, Chloe here has decided she's going to take possession of this Ponyta she once befriended!" Sonia said, now seemingly itching to cut to the chase after her praise.
"Really Chloe! That's great! I'll message Opal, she's been waiting for that to happen."
"So," Hop said, "I guess this is where we split from you two for now?"
"Actually, I'll catch up later after I do my press conference. Dragonite knows where it is. And Iris, she's doing a podcast tonight, apparently."
"Yeah, my first and only." Iris said, making the uh-oh face.
"Heh, I look forward to it." Goh said, surprised but finding it funny.
"And Chloe, you and me are talking tomorrow. I'll explain later. For now, I need to find someone." Iris told the Maroon-hair girl, eyes focused. She then left, almost sprinting, hoping she'd see Marnie quickly.
"Um…okay?" Chloe uttered after that.
"She has the same position Cynthia and Diantha have. She gets what she wants. Though it is a bit new that she's more decisive, she usually let me or this person named Cilan make most of the decisions when we traveled together." Ash said with a chuckle.
"Ash!" A voice called from a bit out.
"Marnie?" Goh recognized the voice as she made herself more apparent.
Unfortunately, Iris had run in the wrong direction, completely missing her objective.
"Oh, nice to see you again, Goh. Sorry to cut this short, but Ash, a few of Team Yell told me that Iris called Spikemuth a dump. So tell her, that I tell her, to name a time and place so I can show how better it is than anywhere in Unova, and I don't bloody care if she's the champion." And then she walked away before anyone, including Goh and Chloe, could respond.
- End of chapter. Ending notes follow -
Looks like the three racist Team Yell Grunts got to Marnie first and lied with their own version of events...How will Iris respond to this? We'll see in the next chapter.
This story won't as a whole revolve around racism, it's just going to be present in this chapter and next chapter, but I felt I needed to show Iris overcoming racism as a Black champion. If you have any issues with how racism was depicted in this chapter, please leave a comment/review, I in fact want to hear your criticism if you have it.
Marnie is 19, the same age as Ash and Iris.
I originally had Iris ambiguously say that Ash partnered with one of the Unova Dragons and someone else was with the other so readers could decide which version of Movie 14 happened here, but it just felt silly, so I decided that "Victini and Zekrom" is the movie that happened in this timeline.
I realized N and Chloe both in different ways struggled with their fathers, so I thought it would be cool for Iris to mention him to her.