Hi fellow readers, once again I'm back with the next chapter of 'So Glad We Met.' Once again I apologize for the fact that I didn't update in a while. It's just that I didn't get round to writing this chapter for a while though I have worked hard on it in the past few days. Anyway I hope you're all sitting comfortably, if so then lets begin...
As Ash woke his eyes, the sky above was now slightly lighter than before. The clouds were starting to disappear and the sun even started to come out, causing a rainbow to appear. However in front of all of that was a face. This took Ash by surprise at first; causing him to jump back a little, but eventually he saw that they meant no harm. "It's alright, you're safe now," Iris said.
Ash stood there looking at the Iris' face in awe. All the duo could do now was stare at each others eyes. "Wow this girl's kind of pretty," Ash thought. "What shall I say to her?" He knew that eventually he would have to say something, or Iris would lose interest. He decided to say the first thing that came out of his mouth. However he began to wish he had not done so. "Do I know you?" he blurted out. "Oh boy," he thought. "I probably shouldn't have said that."
Iris looked confused. "You remember me don't you? You asked me for directions and I stupidly led you here."
Ash began to take a look around him."Wait a second," he suddenly jumped up from off the ground. "Where am I? What happened?"
"You were struck by lightning, Zekrom lightning," Pikachu began. "You might have forgotten some stuff about it though; the lightning hit you very hard. It completely knocked you out!"
"But you're okay now," Iris added. She now began to introduce herself. "My name's Iris, I come from the Village of Dragons. I'm training to become a dragon master. This is my partner Axew," she continued, pointing to Axew.
"Awesome!" Ash replied. "I should probably introduce myself too. My name's Ash, I come from Pallet Town in Kanto. I'm training to become a pokemon master. This is my best buddy Pikachu, though you've probably worked that out by now."
Iris began to admire Ash. "Wow you've came all the way from Kanto, that's awesome! I've never been to Kanto."
"You've never even left home," Axew teased.
"Shut up Axew," Iris muttered. She turned back round to Ash again. "Besides I haven't actually met anyone outside this region."
"Well now you have! Ash replied cheerfully. "Wow, you want to be a dragon master! I've never bumped into someone like that before. Not in four regions!"
Iris looked rather surprised now. "You've been to four regions! That's awesome. But have you seriously not met another dragon master before? They're very popular here in Unova."
"Oh awesome! This is kind of my first day so I obviously haven't seen many."
"This is your first day? Well what better way than to show you around."
As Iris began to walk, and Ash would follow, Axew kept trying to warn Iris. "Iris what on earth are you doing? You don't have a clue where we're going. Besides you can't really show him around if you're stuck in a forest."
Iris rolled her eyes. As much as Axew's comments started to tick her off, Iris knew that she didn't have a clue where she was gong. However on this occasion she desperately wanted to impress her new friend Ash. "Axew can you just let me take charge for once." She whispered. "Besides he is kind of cute, I don't want him to think I'm lazy or something."
The duo continued to walk around, with Iris leading the way. Ash was slightly confused at Iris' behaviour. "I wonder what she's doing. It doesn't particularly look like she knows where she's actually going," he thought.
Pikachu was also starting to feel concerned as Iris continued to lead them to the middle of nowhere. He tried to alert Ash that Iris clearly didn't have a clue as to where they were going. "Ash, I'm not so sure this is the right way. Maybe we should tell her or at least help her find the way somehow."
"Well to be fair we don't exactly know the way either," Ash replied.
As Ash and Pikachu continued to argue behind, Axew was now starting to take notice of their frustration. "Look Iris, you're not going anywhere and by the look of things Ash and Pikachu are getting kind of tired of being led in the wrong direction."
Iris suddenly stopped walking. "Yeah I guess you're right. I wouldn't want to get Ash lost or anything. But what am I going to tell them. If they found out that I didn't know how to read a map they'd instantly humiliate me."
"I'm sure they wouldn't. They seem mature. Besides what choice do you have? You have loads of other secrets that people will discover someday. And trust me, not being able to read a map isn't your worst."
That suddenly shook Iris. Axew was right. If struggling to read a map made Ash and Pikachu laugh then god knows how hysterical their laughter would be if they found out that Iris was scared of ice types. She turned round, much to the surprise of Ash and Pikachu. "Er guys, I've got something to say."
"What is it?" Both Ash and Pikachu thought.
"I-I I don't have a clue where I'm going." Ash and Pikachu both sighed in disappointment. "I've been stuck in this forest all day, looking for some sort of way to get out but unfortunately the more I've tried, the more lost I've become."
"Though I hate to admit it, I too have been stuck in this forest all day," Ash replied.
Iris sat on a low nearby tree branch and sighed, with her cheek now sunk into her hand. "Oh we're going to be stuck in this forest forever." Tears were now starting to come down her face. "I should've listened to Elder when she was telling me how to get through this forest."
As Iris continued to cry, Ash felt slightly bad knowing that he hadn't done anything either to help. "If I hadn't left that stupid map on the boat then maybe I could've helped Iris. Why does she have to cry though? She hasn't done anything wrong," Ash thought sadly as he watched Iris continue to weep. Though he hadn't even met Iris for a day, Ash already started to feel sad watching Iris cry. He went over and tried his best to comfort her. "Come on Iris, don't worry about it, we'll make it out of here eventually, and even if it takes us forever, I'll help you all the way."
Iris sniffled as though her face was wet with tears, what Ash had just said suddenly made her feel a lot better. "Wow you'd really do that?"
"Of course I would. I mean, we are like friends now right?"
"We sure are," Iris replied before gripping Ash into a hug. However she then sighed once again. "But still, it doesn't look like we're going to be out of here anytime soon. I mean, what's the point in this stupid map I was given anyway if I can't even-"
Ash suddenly interrupted Iris excitedly. "Wait a minute did you just say you have a map?" He asked hopefully.
"Well yes but if I can't exactly re-"
"Let me see," Ash replied determinedly.
Iris dug the map that Elder had given her out of her bag and gave it to Ash. "Why is there something up?"
However Ash gave a quick inspection of the map before looking up. "Yes! We have a map!"
"What can you read a map?" Iris asked with her hopes suddenly boosting.
"Of course I can. I just lost mine on the ferry. If I had a map all along, I never would've been in this mess in the first place."
"Wow, so we're saved!" Iris replied excitedly.
"We sure are!"
"So how long away from Striaton are we then?"
Ash inspected his map, looking for where the duo were at the moment. "Unfortunately we're quite far away from the end of this forest. Also once we get out there's another route preceding Striaton. It shouldn't be as big or as confusing as this forest though."
"So I guess we still kind of have a long way to go then," Iris replied slightly more disappointed than before but still relatively relieved.
"Sadly, but at least we know where we're going now. It could be worse."
"Let's follow this map then. I think you better lead the way this time."
The duo followed the map for a while until Ash started to feel his stomach grumble. "Oh boy!" He said out loud.
"What's wrong?" Iris asked looking for some reason concerned as Pikachu felt an anime-tear go down his face.
"Damn I really could get something to eat right now. I haven't eaten in ages." As Ash held his stomach, Pikachu continued to feel embarrassed, along with Axew while Iris' forehead turned purple.
Pikachu turned round to Iris and Axew. "I should've warned all of you about this."
Ash started to look around. Bearing in mind he was in a forest, there didn't appear to be much food on offer. "Oh geez, please say there's something here we can eat."
"Well there are some apple trees over there," Iris pointed to a bunch of trees nearby. Though they did have some healthy looking apples, all of them were near the top of the tree, which happened to be quite far up.
"But Iris," Ash replied. "All of the apples are right at the top of the tree, which is like five metres high."
"Oh there's no need to worry about that," Iris responded before jumping up into the tree and climbing right at the top in the blink of an eye, before picking a bunch of apples and jumping right to the ground immediately. As Iris gave Ash and the two pokemon an apple each, Ash and Pikachu looked stunned at what they had just seen.
"Wow, she really climbed the tree that quickly?" Ash thought.
As Iris ate her apple she looked at Ash who still looked rather surprised. "Hey Ash why are you so shocked all of a sudden?" she asked.
"Well what do you think? You just climbed a tree and got back down in like five seconds!"
Iris looked rather confused before shrugging her shoulders. "And... is it really that impressive?"
Ash still looked bemused. "Well of course!"
"Oh it's not that much. I climb trees all the time. I'd always end up getting told off for it but-" Iris suddenly stopped and thought back to what she had just said. "Hey wait a minute! Whenever I'd climb a tree or something, people would usually tell me off or look at me as if I was some kind of weirdo. Why is Ash complementing me all of a sudden?" she thought. It was true. Iris would always climb trees in school. In the school playground there were plenty of trees. Iris would always encourage her classmates to join her when she was climbing a tree. However, they would always just stare at her in a funny way as if she was some sort of strange loner. It even got to the point in which a teacher would take notice, and therefore Iris would end up in big trouble. The bottom line was that no one liked her climbing trees. However that never discouraged her at all. She still liked to climb trees for fun whether she was playing hide and seek or finding food. "He's actually complementing me for once. No one's ever done that before! Maybe Ash could be it; my first true friend. After all no one's ever been this nice to me in general."
Time passed before the evening arrived. Though the duo now knew where they were going, they still had not reached Striaton City and as it was getting dark, Ash and Iris decided to call it a day and camp at their current destination. "Looks like its getting dark. We should probably just stop now and sleep here for the night," Ash began.
Iris looked up to the sky, which was starting to get darker. "Yeah I guess you're right."
As Ash began to set up his tent, he looked up to Iris, who was sitting in a tree above. Ash looked confused. "Hey Iris, aren't you going to set up for the night as well?"
Iris looked down. "Oh no I'm alright. I'll just sleep in this tree."
"Are you sure about that?" Ash replied still rather surprised.
"Yeah I'll be fine! I mean it's not going to rain or anything." It wasn't too long before the sky turned pitch black, with plenty of stars in the sky. In the space where the Ash had set up his tent, the duo had lit a campfire. As the two trainers sat around the campfire, Iris was still rather curious to find out more about Ash. "So Ash, please tell me more about you then. What's it like travelling across a load of regions?"
"It's alright I guess. I mean its lots of fun and you do learn a lot of stuff but it's only as good if you're with someone you appreciate."
"Have you travelled with anyone else then?"
Ash sighed. "Don't even get me started. I travelled with three girls across four regions, named Misty, May and Dawn. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate them or anything. I was close with them but damn they can be annoying."
Iris on the other hand was taking in everything Ash said. "Have you ever travelled with someone you appreciate?"
"Well I did have one friend who I travelled all four previous regions with," Ash replied. "His name was Brock. Other than Pikachu he was my best friend. Unfortunately he had to follow his own dreams in becoming a doctor which is why he's not here today. He's probably back in Kanto operating on a metapod or something right now."
Iris looked slightly saddened right now. "So Brock must have been very important to you then."
"He sure was. It was gutting watching him go his own way. I just hope that someday I'll come across someone who can fill his gap, someone who will be as close a friend as he was to me."
Iris continued to look sad after what Ash had just said. "I'm really sorry to hear that." She looked at the floor. "I've never had a friend like that. I've never felt the pain unlike you."
"It sure was painful. But I've moved on from that. I'd never let that bring me down. I mean sure we had some great memories together, but I'll make new friends anyway. If I want to become a pokemon master then I can't let things like this bring me down. I'll just let them go and carry on," he spoke determinedly. "Although it would be better if I had someone who was really close to me," Ash continued but now looking to the floor slightly disappointed.
Iris saw that Ash was feeling slightly sad and went over and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you will find someone special to you."
Ash looked up to Iris. "You really think so?"
"Yes I do, in fact that special friend you've longed to have since Brock left might be right in front of you right now." Ash, being Ash, looked confused for a few seconds. However he then looked up, rather joyfully.
"You'd really be my friend!" Ash replied cheerfully.
"Of course I would," Iris replied with a smile on her face. "I mean without you I'd probably be some nobody stuck in the middle of nowhere right now."
Ash was too happy to say anything back right now. He stood there rather happily surprised before embracing Iris tightly as quick as a flash. After he finally let go he now was able to speak. "I'm sure we will be the best of friends."
"I'm sure we will," Iris replied giving Ash a wink.
Ash and Iris hugged once again before Ash broke the hug up and began to scratch his arm. "Er so does this mean that..."
"Mean what?" Iris replied.
Ash continued to look nervous. "Well if, we are, like, best friends, does that mean that, oh what the hell do you want to travel the Unova region with me? I mean it will be a lot of fun, I'll make sure you have a great time!"
Iris now looked even happier. "I don't even have to think twice about this. Of course I will!"
Ash had now perked up completely. Once again he was speechless. All he could do was give Iris another massive hug. "Thank you thank you thank you! We'll have a hell of a journey together I know it!" Ash spoke cheerfully under the star filled sky as the moon began to come out.
The duo eventually decided to turn in for the night, with the campfire now burned out, Ash went into his sleeping bag inside his tent while Iris climbed into the tree where she would sleep for the night. "Goodnight Iris, have a good night sleep!" Ash called.
"You too!" Iris replied. As Ash settled down, Iris stared at the night sky with Axew snuck inside her hair fast asleep. "Wow Ash is such a great guy. I'm sure the two of us will have great fun together," she took a deep breath. "I'm so glad we met." However as she still sat in her tree, unable to settle after the adventurous day she had just experienced, she now started to feel a drop of water drip onto her, before another. "Oh no it's raining! What were the chances?" She tried to ignore the raindrops but unfortunately the rain only got heavier. Now she had to concede that it was too wet outside. "I can't sleep in these conditions. I'll just ask Ash if I can sleep in his tent. He's so going to say 'I told you so' but I guess I don't have any other choice." She walked into Ash's tent where Ash lay inside his sleeping bag. "Look at him sleeping," she thought. Though she didn't particularly want to admit it, she thought Ash was kind of cute. "Hey Ash," she began. Ash opened his eyes to see his new travelling partner beside him.
"Hey Iris, what's up?" Ash asked as he began to sit up.
"Do you mind if I sleep in your tent? It's sort of raining outside."
"Yeah sure," Ash replied. "You do have a sleeping bag don't you?"
"I think so, just for emergencies." She dug her sleeping bag out of her backpack and laid it out next to Ash's.
"I told you so," Ash said jokingly. Iris stood slightly unsure how to respond but then just smiled back.
Iris took another look at Ash before she went to bed. He was somehow fast asleep once again. "Isn't he a big sleeper," she thought to herself. Iris smiled once again before giving Ash a gentle kiss on the head. "Goodnight Ash."
The next morning came and due to the rain from the previous night the floor was rather damp and slightly muddy while the sky was still grey, much to the disappointment of Ash and Iris, as well as their two pokemon who had finally woken up and got out of Ash's tent. "Man I didn't think the rain would be this bad," Ash said looking around.
"Wow it really did chuck it down," Pikachu said. "Finding our way out of the forest today sure will be fun," he added sarcastically.
The four of them had a breakfast of apples (again,) before getting ready for another day of exploring the forest. "Do you know how far away from Striaton we are?" Iris asked.
"Hopefully not too far," Ash replied as they continued to walk through the forest. However as they were walking they began to hear a rustle in a bush.
"What's that?" Iris asked.
Iris' question was soon answered after Georgia popped out of the bush and slid across the floor. "Stupid Pidove," she muttered. She then turned around only to see Iris stare in shock alongside Ash. "Well well look who it is. It's dragon trainer Iris who can't even handle an ice type move.
"Oh no Georgia!" Iris panicked.
"Who is this?" Ash asked as he saw Iris slightly panic.
"It's Georgia. A girl I met in the forest before I met you. She's a dragon buster!"
"A dragon buster?" Ash looked slightly confused. "What on earth is that?"
"Basically someone who tries to go round destroying all dragon types/dragon type trainers. She battled me before I met you, forcing me to completely chicken out."
"I see," Ash replied looking slightly angry. "Well she's not going to get her own way this time?"
"And who's this little kid who's right next to you?" Georgia teased.
"He's not a little kid!" Iris snapped back while Ash blushed a little. "His name's Ash and he's my best friend so don't you dare say anything nasty about him!" As Ash looked surprised, Georgia started to snigger at the dragon type trainer. However when things couldn't get worse for Ash and Iris, along came another familiar face from behind.
"Well look who it is."
Ash and Iris turned round. "Trip! Not you again!"
"It's you again Ash Ketchup. And by the looks of things you've befriended a palm tree."
As Trip laughed at his own joke, Ash was now very upset after what Trip had just said. "Don't you dare call her that! Her name's Iris! If you call her a palm tree again then-"
However as Ash continued to get angry, Iris desperately tried to get him to calm down. "Calm down Ash, don't get too angry. You can just do your talking on the battlefield."
As Ash tried to calm down, Trip appeared to be rather pleased with the prospect of the battle. "Oh so you want a battle? Well you're on. I can't wait to show you how powerful I am."
"Fine, we'll have a battle then," Ash agreed, determined to defeat his enemy. "That'll teach you about messing with my friends!"
"Hey hey can't Iris and I battle first?" Georgia interrupted looking rather unhappy with her hands on her hips.
"Fine," both Ash and Trip moaned.
"A battle?" Iris moaned. She gulped. "Oh boy."
With both Ash and Iris anticipating a battle with their rivals, things can surely only get tougher for the two. Can Ash prove Trip wrong on the battlefield or does Trip have a trick up his sleeve? Meanwhile will Georgia reduce Iris to tears once again or will Iris get revenge? Whatever the outcome, we can well and truly expect two fiery battles but who will win? Stay tuned to find out...
There we go. Chapter 4 is complete! I hoped you liked my announcer bit at the end (which you guys were meant to interpret as if the guy who does the announcement at the end of every episode in the anime series was saying it.) This chapter did take a while but as soon as I got on with it, I actually had a lot of fun so I thoroughly hope you enjoyed reading it. I know this chapter was kind of lame as it lacked action but I will try and add more action in the next chapter (which I will try and post ASAP.) I'm actually hoping to get the whole fanfic finished relatively soon as writing this chapter gave me an awesome idea for another fanfic (though I won't do that until I've finished this one.) Anyway thanks a lot for reading PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW and REVIEW (I really appreciate it,) and stay tuned for the next chapter.
CYA GUYS!
Charizard58
P.S. If you were wondering about where 'Best Of Negaishipping' is then there is a statement on my profile page explaining.
P.P.S. By the way did I ever tell you that on my profile page I occasionally post notices so please take a look at some point. If you are that interested then you can check regularly. I promise that if I have anything important to say, there will be a message on my profile page.