Remind me to never make promises on here again. Why? Because I always end up making them too early, and this chapter and last chapter are no exception (Sorry about that :/ ). Anyway, after being away for so long, I've finally finished Chapter 8 of the story. Again, I'm sorry for the late chapter, but that'll happen when you're doing college work and preparing for VGCs at the same time. Well, let's move on now. For everyone who so patiently waited, here is the eighth chapter of "The Truth Beneath the Iris." For those of you who couldn't wait and decided to do something else like write their own fics or do their work, I'm glad that you didn't rage at me.
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Chapter 8
After the small fiasco that had taken place in front of Ash and Iris, the rest of their morning had been relatively quiet. As both Ash and Iris prepared for the day ahead of them, neither one of them had the nerve to speak to each other about what had happened before the sudden intervention of Iris's mother. Eventually, during breakfast, the unbridled romantic tension in the air became a bit too jarring for Cilan to ignore. Perhaps it was the way his typically colloquial friends refused to talk to each other, or the way they ignored each other's gaze, but still attempted to sneak looks at each other when they were sure the other wasn't looking. A few rather obvious conclusions began to form in Cilan's head, but ultimately, he decided to stay quiet as well in order to avoid the verbal chastisement that would soon follow if he did so much as imply the idea of a romantic relationship between the two children.
With the awkward breakfast finally over and the day still ahead of them, the group set off from Iris's house and made their way to the tournament grounds, their Pokémon and Deino following them closely with the exception of Pikachu and Axew, who rode atop their respective trainers in their typical spots. Although both Oshawott and Emolga were enjoying the leisure time they seldom received outside of their Poké Balls, they still couldn't enjoy this time as much due to their concern for their trainers, who remained silent as they continued to avoid each other to Cilan and Pikachu's discomfort. Feeling the need to escape this uncomfortable situation, Pikachu's eyes started to wander and he began to marvel at the lush, green landscape around him as well as the occasional wooden cottage and wild Pokémon that their group passed. This continued for a few minutes until he turned around to see Deino focusing on Iris's hair. Now, Pikachu already knew that the large tuft of hair was an interesting sight, so he paid her no mind; unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about Axew, who began to feel unnerved by the four-legged dragon's constant gaze.
"Can you please stop staring this way?" Axew pleaded to Deino as he poked his head out of the mass of hair he called home. "It's embarrassing."
"Sorry, Axew," Deino apologized. "I was just curious about your trainer. She seems so…strange."
"Strange? What do you mean by that?" Axew asked with a somewhat coy smile before Deino continued.
"It's nothing major, really, but your trainer seems so much nicer than the people I've seen around here lately. When I was wandering around this village with the boy in the hat, I saw some people looking at us, but the faces they made were really weird. They kind of looked like they were scared of something."
"Why would they act scared around you? Did you do something bad?" Axew asked with a look of confusion on his face.
"Well, I don't really know how it happened, but I think they were angry because I hurt Ash."
"You hurt Ash?!" Axew cried out in response to the shocking fact.
"Shhhh! Not so loud!" Deino quickly whisper-shouted to Axew before looking around to see if anyone was alarmed. To her surprise, no one seemed to be paying attention to their conversation, and with a sigh of relief, Deino began to speak again, becoming only more and more depressed as her explanation continued. "I don't even know how it happened. All I remember is that I was in a battle, it got pretty exciting, and then I blacked out. When I finally woke up, I was back at the Pokémon Center and the boy with the hat was sitting in a chair with bandages all over him."
"Don't feel bad about yourself," Axew said in an attempt to cheer Deino up after seeing the expression of sadness on her face. "I'm sure that you didn't mean to hurt Ash like that."
"It's funny. He said pretty much the same thing that you just said, even though he was the one that got hurt," Deino remarked with a quick smirk. "He seems pretty nice, too, but I think he didn't blame me only because he was just trying to be considerate. I bet he still hates me because of what I did." After hearing these comments, Axew opinion on Deino began to change. At first, he had thought that Deino was just another lost Pokémon that liked to have fun at other people's expense and embarrassment, but after their short conversation, he started to learn that despite how she may act, she still cared about what other people thought of her. With this new thought in mind, Axew attempted to cheer her up again.
"Again, don't worry about it, Deino. There's no way that Ash would hate you over something that wasn't even your fault in the first place. He's too kind and generous."
"Is that why Ash gets along so well with your trainer and the moss-headed guy standing between them?" Deino asked as she began to cheer up after Axew's constant attempts to do just that.
"Yeah," Axew quickly answered. "Even though they argue sometimes, they learn more about each other, and they will always be great friends with each other."
"Okay, then I guess it's time for me to stop acting so sad and start learning more about my new friend, too." Deino said as he looked towards Axew with a large grin that made him smile as well.
~*~
Only a few minutes had passed since the conversation between the two small dragons started, but within that short amount of time, they had already learned so much more about each other than they had known before. When they first met, Axew had his small doubts about the somewhat wayward Deino, but as their conversation continued, these negative opinions slowly became no more than a simple afterthought. Although they were slow to respond, both Oshawott and Emolga began to have a change of heart as well, or rather, they began to express this change when they got involved in the conversation as well. As the four Pokémon continued to talk amongst each other, the once uneasy atmosphere around them was gradually replaced with an air of joy and merriment that infected the trainers they traveled with as well. Pikachu wanted to join the conversation as well, but felt that he needed to stay by his trainer's side to support him; fortunately for him, Ash wasn't a selfish person and could easily tell that his partner wanted to hang out with his Pokémon friends, and after a bit of coaxing and reassuring, that's exactly what he did. It felt a bit weird for Ash to walk around without the yellow mouse on his shoulder, but he didn't let it bother him too much. After a few more minutes of walking, a decently-sized white tent began to come into the group's view.
"So this is where the tournament is going to be held?" Ash wondered aloud as they continued walking down the road.
"That's right," Iris responded. "The tournament itself isn't really that popular outside of the village, but the people who live here tend to use it as a way to bond with their own Dragon Pokémon or as a self-imposed final exam to see if they are ready to start their journey into the outside world."
"It sounds like this tournament has a very competitive taste," Cilan commented with a quick smile.
"It tends to be taken very seriously by the villagers, but sometimes, they can go a little too far with it," Iris said as a sheepish grin formed on her face. "You have some trainers in this village that challenge the competitors before the tournament day even arrives in order to see if they're worthy of even participating. There are even some cases where, after the battles, the competitors get cold feet and withdraw from the tournament. The problem itself got so bad that the Matriarch started managing the registrations herself, and even though her methods for getting it done are a bit…unorthodox, it's made things go by much more smoothly."
"Is that the reason why we left the house so early?" Cilan asked with a somewhat concerned expression.
"Sort of," Iris replied. "We have to tell the Matriarch which Pokémon we're using, anyway, and she's usually up very early on this day so people can register without going through any grief."
"Well, it's not like it matters anyway. My Pokémon and I are still going to have fun and win this tournament." Ash said with a look of determination.
"Now what makes you think that you're going to win?" Iris said with a smug look on her face. "Axew and I have been training pretty hard, too." As soon as he heard his trainer mention his name, Axew took a break from the conversation he was having with the other Pokémon in order listen to what his trainer and Ash were saying.
"And my Pokémon and I have been training even harder." Ash shot back.
"Well, it wouldn't matter anyway," Iris bragged with her hands casually behind her head. "There's no way I'm going to lose against a kid who can't even beat me in a simple race."
"Is that a challenge I hear?!" Ash asked as he raised a clenched hand towards his face.
"Depends on what you think. All I'm saying is that I can easily get to the tent and back before you can even reach it." Iris said as she looked towards Ash, still keeping her air of confidence.
"Well, that's pretty hard to do that when I already have a head start." Ash said with a grin before quickly running away.
"Hey! Come back here!" Iris said before quickly running after Ash.
"Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!" Both Axew and Deino shouted in surprise after Iris's sudden take-off before Deino quickly chased after Axew and his trainer, leaving Cilan and the other Pokémon behind in the process.
"Hmm, it looks like they're feeling much better now," Cilan thought to himself, feeling a bit lonely as he watched his friends run farther and farther away from him. As he turned his head to look at the other Pokémon that were left behind, another thought began to plague his mind.
"I wonder what Georgia is doing right now."
~*~
Staying neck and neck with each other, both Ash and Iris continued to move at breakneck speeds in the final stretch towards the tournament grounds with nothing but the goal of winning occupying their minds. Still feeling surprised by their sudden take-off, Deino managed to avoid being left behind and continued to chase after the two trainers, and more specifically, Axew, who felt a bit sad that his conversation was interrupted so suddenly. With Deino still in his view, Axew began to feel relieved when he noticed his trainer slowing down with Ash behind her.
"Hah! It looks like I won once again, Ash," Iris said with a look of triumph as Ash stood behind her, still panting after running so quickly.
"No, I'm the one that won this race," Ash gasped with a smile, much to Iris's confusion until he regained his breath and continued. "You said you could make it here and back before I could even get here, but you didn't, so you're the one that lost."
"You really think I meant that? I was just saying that to mess with you, but I didn't think you would take me seriously. You're such a kid." Iris said to cover up the small technicality.
"So that's where we have to register for the tournament, Iris?" Ash asked as he focused on the tent to his right, trying to ignore the fact that Iris had called him a kid again. As he continued to look at the tent, he began to take notice of the extra figures that decorated the tent, such as the red circles that hung on the edges in the front and the golden, cross-like figure that stood above its entrance.
"Yeah, the Old Matriarch should be taking registrations in there, but she'll only see one person at a time, so I'll go ahead to register Axew," Iris said before she began to walk toward the tent. Ash began to walk towards the tent as well, but before he could take a step, he felt something bump into his leg that made him lose his balance. Being all too familiar with this situation, Ash quickly regained his balance before he looked down to see Deino at his feet.
"Oh, I didn't think that you would be chasing after us, Deino. You really should be careful about where you're running, though, or I might start to mistake you for someone else," Ash lectured Deino, who could only give an annoyed look before responding.
"Hey! You're about as guilty as I am. You're supposed to be my caretaker, but you suddenly ran off without me, and when I was talking to Axew and everyone else, too." Ash could only stand and listen for the next moment or two as Deino continued on with her inaudible complaining.
"Ash! Come over here quick! You won't believe who's here!" Iris called from a distance, drawing Ash's attention away from Deino in the process.
"Now, what could she be calling for this time, and who's that girl beside her?" Ash thought to himself as he walked towards the tent.
"Hey! Don't walk away while I'm still talking!" Deino yelled before walking after Ash. As she continued her futile efforts to get Ash's attention again, her anger was slowly replaced with curiosity and alertness when she took noticed of the short-haired, brunette girl that stood beside Iris. As Deino focused more on the unfamiliar person, she also began to take notice of the yellow hoop earrings she wore on her ears as well as her teal blue eyes, which seemed to match the rest of her clothes in color. For a moment, Deino wondered who this person was as Ash came to a stop in front of her and Iris.
"So Ash, can you remember who this girl is?" Iris asked Ash as she motioned towards the girl beside herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you again after so long, Ash," the brunette said with a graceful smile. For a moment, Ash focused heavily on the girl in an effort to recognize who she was, but eventually, after noticing the unnerved looks that both Iris and the brunette wore, Ash could only give an embarrassed look before breaking his silence.
"Umm, have we met somewhere before?"
"…Now come on, Ash. Stop kidding around," Iris said, trying to ignore Ash's comment. "Surely, you remember someone you've battled against before."
"I'm sorry, Iris, but I just can't remember. We meet a lot of people in our travels, so it's hard to remember every single person I've met," Ash admitted, feeling a bit guilty as well. Iris could only give a sigh of defeat before speaking while the brunette could only continue to smile to avoid being rude.
"Ash, this is Amy, the girl we met when we were traveling towards Nimbasa City, and right before Axew mastered Dragon Rage."
"Hmm, Amy, Amy, Dragon Sneeze…" Ash mumbled to himself before finally remembering the events that took place on that day. "Oh! Now I remember! It's nice to see you too, Amy, but what are you doing all the way out here?"
"Well…" Amy started, taking a moment to think about what she was going to say before she continued. "After you and Iris helped me bond with my Druddigon, I started traveling across the Unova region for a while and captured a few new Pokémon. I've even started taking the Gym Leader challenge."
"Really?!" Ash responded, feeling a bit proud after hearing this bit of news. "That's great. How many badges have you won so far?"
"Sadly, I haven't won any badges so far," Amy said with a nervous smile. "To be honest, I was kind of worried about how I was doing, and how my Pokémon were feeling after the losses, but then I remembered what Iris had said about the Dragon Village. I thought that a visit to the village would give me a great chance to bond with my Pokémon, so here I am."
"Well, I hope you've been enjoying your time here," Iris said, feeling a bit happy and proud as well. "So, how long have you been in the Dragon Village for now?"
"I've been here for about six days now," Amy responded as a figure began to appear from a distance, going largely unnoticed by everyone except Deino as it slowly drew closer to them. "So far, the training has been going pretty well, and when I heard about the tournament that was being held here, I thought it would be a good way to test how far I've gotten with my Pokémon, but right now, I just feel a little nervous. There are so many strong trainers here participating, and I'm just a starting trainer, but I started feeling a little better thanks to a new friend I met yesterday."
"New friend?" Ash asked before Deino began to nudge his head in an effort to warn him about the approaching figure.
"Yeah, and she's very strong, too," Amy responded. "I was honestly shocked when she beat all of those trainers at the Pokémon Center, and she looked a bit scary when she lost against this one guy, but once I got to talk to her for a bit, she turned out to be a very nice person. I wanted to come to the tournament grounds with her this morning, but she said that she had a few things to take care of before she left. I really hope that nothing happened to her before she left. Some of the trainers she beat looked really angry when they lost."
As these thoughts continued to occupy her mind, Amy slowly forgot that she was still talking to Ash and Iris, who began to think about what she had said as well while Deino continued to nudge at Ash's leg in order to warn him about the figure that now stood near the group. First taking a glance at Deino and then at the three trainers that continued to ignore Deino, the figure slowly inhaled and prepared to shout.
"Hey, Ash! Your Pokémon is trying to get your attention! At least be nice enough to respond!"
Shocked by the sudden interjection, the three trainers turned towards the battlefield to see who the source of the shout was. When they finally got a clear view of the person, all they saw was a boy that was slightly taller than Ash, but only because his body was constantly slouched. He had dull, brown eyes and the only noticeable clothes that he wore to cover his slightly tanned skin were a gray T-shirt and black pants that were obviously worn out and held up by a belt that carried his shrunken Poké Balls. His black hair was also a good sign of his lack of concern for personal appearance, for it was long and bushy. Upon seeing this person, Iris began to feel disdain welling up inside of her, but before she could unleash it, she was quickly cut off by Ash, who responded before she could even speak.
"Vincent!" Ash shouted, sounding somewhat elated about seeing him, much to Iris's surprise. "What are you doing here so early? Didn't you already register your Pokémon yesterday?"
"Well, I tried to register my Pokémon yesterday, but I couldn't get to the Matriarch because of all the people challenging me, and then there was some personal business that I wanted to take care of," Vincent said with a conservative smile.
"Really? What kind of business was that?" Ash asked. As the idle conversation between Ash and Vincent continued, Iris could only stand back and watch with growing worry as she continued to wonder how the duo were getting along so well.
"Why does he, out of all people, have to be here now of all times? Wait. How does he even know Ash so well? Did they meet each other before?" As these thoughts consumed her, Iris slowly became more unaware of what was going on around her.
"Iris," a voice called out. "Iris? Are you listening?" Upon hearing this voice, Iris quickly snapped back to reality to see that the voice was coming from Ash, who was looking somewhat concerned as he continued to look at Iris. "Are you okay, Iris? You looked worried about something."
"Why would I be worried? I'm perfectly fine with your new friend." Iris quickly lied as she attempted to hide her feelings.
"I didn't even introduce you to him yet." Ash complained.
"Then why are you keeping us waiting? Why don't you introduce us to him right now?" Iris said, desperate to change the topic. For a moment, Ash carefully examined her in an effort to understand her sudden change in behavior. Eventually, still feeling a little concerned, Ash decided to give up and take Iris's advice and introduce his new friend.
"Anyway, Amy, Iris, this is my new friend, Vincent."
"It's nice to meet the both of you, but…it feels kind of weird to introduce myself to people that I've already met," Vincent said.
"Eh? You've already met Amy and Iris?" Ash said, feeling somewhat surprised and disappointed.
"Yeah. I already met Amy yesterday at the Pokémon Center, but honestly, I haven't seen Iris in a while," Vincent admitted as he turned to look at Iris. "Hey, Iris, do you remember me?"
"…I don't remember seeing you before," Iris said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"Are you sure? I know it's been a few years, but surely you remember seeing me before." Vincent persisted.
"I'm sure. It's hard for me to remember every single person I meet." Iris admitted.
"And just moments ago, you were upset about how I forget people so easily," Ash responded with a smirk.
"At least I don't forget people that I've recently met," Iris quickly shot back, leaving Ash with an annoyed look that matched her own.
"Well, even if everyone here keeps forgetting other people, at least this little girl still remembers me," Vincent said as he walked towards the Deino beside Iris and bent down to pet her. At first, Deino felt somewhat startled, but as he continued to pet her, she begrudgingly decided to settle down and let him have his way. "I really hope that you've been taking good care of your Pokémon, Ash."
"Don't worry," Ash said, still feeling a bit annoyed. "She's been doing just fine so far."
"It sure doesn't seem that way with how easily you ignored her," Vincent responded. "You really should give more concern to your own Pokémon before people start to get the wrong idea."
"Your?" Iris said, feeling somewhat confused by Vincent's comment. "What are you talking about? Deino doesn't belong to Ash."
"That's not what I found out when I-…Wait. Ash, are you traveling with Iris right now?" Vincent asked after he stopped petting Deino and quickly turned his head towards Ash, who couldn't help but give a look of guilt. "Oh boy, I should probably just shut up now. I've already said too much."
"No, no, no. Please continue on with what you were saying," Iris said, feeling more curious about what Vincent was about to say.
"Fine," Vincent reluctantly said as he began to stand up again. "If you must know, when I was with Ash yesterday, I saw Ash catch Deino with my own eyes."
"Oh, is that so?" Iris said as her anger rose. Ash could only stand and feel even more guilty and afraid as Vincent continued with his story.
"Yeah, and I'm kind of mad about it, too. I wanted to catch that Deino myself, but Ash barely beat me to it. I'm honestly surprised that Ash didn't tell you about the capture by now. It was pretty intense." By this point, Iris was simply beside herself with anger, yet somehow, she still managed to keep a cheerful smile as she looked towards a fearful Ash. For a moment, the area around the group remained silent until Iris decided to break it.
"Ash, can I talk to you somewhere private for a minute. It's something really important."
"Umm, can we talk about it later?" Ash asked, feeling somewhat aware of what was going to happen next.
"No, this is something really important that can't wait," Iris insisted before dragging Ash away by his arm. Feeling just as afraid of what would happen, Axew quickly jumped out of Iris's hair and walked towards the rest of the group. Although he felt guilty about leaving Ash alone with his trainer, he already knew from experience that when Iris was angry, there's nothing that he can do about it. Amy could only continue to watch, still feeling clueless about what was going on.
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And here marks the end of Chapter 8. I hope that you all enjoyed this very, very, VERY late installment, and I also hope that Ash survive's Iris's wrath (where's Cilan when you need him). Funny thing is, according to my watch, I posted this the same day that "A Sandile Gusher of Change" aired in Japan. I feel happy about finally giving some details about what happened while Iris was asleep in Chapter 4 (I'm still thinking I made the fight scene there too weird and outlandish). So, how does everyone feel about the new rival? I hope I did a good job on him, because I certainly didn't like the new rival he was given in the anime after the World Tournament Junior Cup.