Chapter Text
Wyndon Stadium was shaking as the massive crowd of trainers erupted in thunderous applause. Tens of thousands of trainers from all around the world jumped to their feet, cheering ecstatically for what had been an incredible battle. The match between Champion Iris of Unova and Champion Cynthia of Sinnoh had been a close one, down to the wire with both sides left with just one Pokemon each, but in the end, Cynthia had emerged victorious after mega evolving her fearsome Garchomp. Cynthia, who had reigned undefeated in Sinnoh since well before Iris even began her journey as a trainer, had most of the crowd on her side, but everyone was just happy to see a great battle between two great trainers.
And for once, Ash Ketchum was the quietest person in the room.
It wasn't that he held anything against Cynthia for winning or that he thought the battle hadn't been a good one. The Sinnoh champion was one of his greatest idols, and it was easy to see that both sides had given it everything they had. Besides, Ash didn't know of many people who could boast that they had even taken out one of Cynthia's Pokemon, let alone two. Even Paul, whom he considered to be his greatest rival along with Alain, hadn't stood a chance against her (although granted, that could very well have changed by now). And Iris had managed to push her into mega-evolving Garchomp, something that evidently didn't happen often, judging by the shocked reactions of everyone in the stadium. By all accounts, she had put up a fight to be proud of, one that showed the entire world why she was the champion of Unova. Although the majority of the spectators were partial to Cynthia, he knew that a fair number of them were cheering for Iris as well and that she had completely earned their respect.
But Ash also understood better than anyone what Iris must have been feeling right now. That feeling of being so close to victory, so close to the top of the summit, only to fall short was nothing short of agonizing. He knew that in a few weeks, maybe even in a few days, she would look back on this battle and be proud of how far she and her Pokemon had come. Right now, however, the disappointment was still too fresh, too painful. Right now, she couldn't look for the silver lining in a loss. Right now, he knew her thoughts were running rampant, going over everything she could have done differently. A moment of hesitation here, a command given too quickly there. Maybe this, maybe that...maybe, maybe, maybe.
Right now, he couldn't bring himself to join the rest of the crowd in cheering and clapping for the two champions because even though Iris had a smile on her face, he knew how heartbreaking this defeat must have been for her.
Without a word, he stood up from his seat, ignoring Goh as his fellow researcher asked where he was going. He remained silent as he walked down toward the tunnel that led to the battlefield, all the while trying to think of any words of comfort that would be helpful to Iris in this situation. As he walked down the long hallway, Ash found himself face to face with Iris, who had lost her smile upon leaving the prying eyes of the fans in the stadium and was coming from the other end of the tunnel with her head bowed.
"Hey, Iris," he greeted his longtime friend.
Iris looked back at him, her eyes filling with tears, and Ash's heart sank.
The thing about Ash was that he had always communicated better with Pokemon than with other people. With Pokemon, somehow, he always understood what they wanted and needed. It was, in addition to the hours of training his Pokemon put in every single day, what he felt had helped him grow as much as he had as a trainer. His friendship with his Pokemon had turned him from the naive boy who couldn't earn the respect of his own Charizard to the first-ever Alola champion to, now, one of the top eight trainers in the world. When it came to talking to other trainers, however, he often found himself stumbling over his words, which usually left whoever he was talking to even more confused than when the conversation started.
Now, here he was, face to face with one of his dearest friends at the lowest point she had probably been in a long time. And as he looked at her, he still didn't know what to say that would be of any help in this situation. Iris was a smart girl; she didn't need him to tell her that she should be proud because she had done her best or that there would be other chances to defeat Cynthia in the future. She knew that already. Right now, five minutes after being knocked out of the biggest tournament of her life, she didn't want to hear any fancy words about how this was just a stepping stone for her on her way to even greater heights. Ash himself had heard those exact same words enough times to know that, while they might have been true, they never did anything to lessen the pain of a loss immediately after it happened.
She put a smile on her face again, which did little to stifle the tears that began to stream down her face.
"Cynthia is amazing, isn't she?" Iris asked rhetorically, her shoulders tensing up as if she was trying to stop them from trembling. But she couldn't, and almost instantly, her smile cracked and faded. "She's amazing...amazing, but...but..."
Another thing about Ash was that he was far more willing to be physically affectionate (or, really, just affectionate in general) with Pokemon than he was with people. The reason was simple: he trusted Pokemon far more than he did his fellow human beings. He held firm to the belief that there were no bad Pokemon, only Pokemon who behaved that way because they had been hurt by bad trainers. But how many times had he put his trust in another person only for that trust to be broken? Hugging meant vulnerability, and Ash had learned the hard way not to be vulnerable with anyone he didn't trust and sometimes even with people he did.
Being vulnerable was all well and good until it meant promising the rest of your life to someone without any knowledge that they would walk away one day and never come back.
Being vulnerable was what led to his mother shutting down whenever he tried to ask about his father, only ever telling him that he was on a journey but never quite being able to hide the sorrow and betrayal in her eyes. It was what made her look through the mail with hope every single morning, only to be let down when she didn't find anything from Ash's father. It was what led Infernape (Chimchar then) to Paul in the first place, seeing the Sinnoh native as his only hope of refuge from the pack of Zangoose that had tried to kill him for reasons unknown. It was what led to Sir Aaron's Lucario losing any and all faith in humanity after his master's apparent betrayal, though thankfully, this had been proven to be a misunderstanding later. Being vulnerable was what led to Alain and Mairin being used as pawns by Lysandre.
But Iris didn't cry. At least not like this. She had always been the strong one, the toughest out of all his friends. Now, though, forget about being the strong one. Now, she was broken and defeated, and she needed someone to be there for her. More than anything, Ash wanted to be there for her. If she was willing to be vulnerable in front of him, he could bring himself to meet her halfway.
He walked forward, pulling her into his arms and letting her bury her face into his shoulder. Immediately, Iris reciprocated the hug, collapsing against him and sobbing uncontrollably. For several moments, they stood there together, letting down their walls in a way that neither of them ever did with anyone else.
"I-I'm pathetic! I couldn't do anything," she sobbed. "My...my Pokemon all worked so hard, and I messed it all up for them! We trained so hard for this battle, and I wanted to win so badly, but I...I just...I'm just never good enough. I let Milotic take out two of my Pokemon, and I...I couldn't...I couldn't pull through for Haxorus against Garchomp. If...if I'd only..."
Her voice broke as she was overtaken by another fit of tears, her entire body shaking as she clung to him. By now, Ash had given up on trying to find any words of comfort. He just stood there and held her, allowing her to let out all the frustration she couldn't show around anyone else because she was the champion of Unova now, and everyone knew that champions were expected to be strong and composed at all times.
Eventually, Iris began to calm down, extracting herself from his arms and wiping her face. She sniffled and gave him one of her trademark bright smiles, which was tempered a bit by her swollen eyes but at least she seemed to be in better spirits now. He smiled back, keeping one hand on her shoulder as she composed herself.
"T-thanks, Ash," Iris said hoarsely.
"Anytime," he answered softly as Pikachu squeaked in agreement.
She wiped her eyes one last time and grinned at him. "I think I'm okay now, Ash. Go out there and win your match, yeah? I'll be cheering you on from the stands."
"You got it, Iris," he agreed, giving her a slight fist pump. He hesitated for a moment, then added, "And hey, after my battle is done, Goh and I are going to get something to eat. Why don't you come along with us? We can tell you all about what we've been doing since we saw each other back in Opelucid City, and you can laugh at my dumb ass and call me a little kid just like you used to back in the old days."
Just like you used to when things were simpler.
Iris looked at him for a moment, then nodded and replied softly, "Sure. I'd like that a lot."
Ash smiled back at her, then turned around, squaring his shoulders as he walked toward the battlefield. Iris' time at the Masters Eight Championship might have come to an end, but his was just beginning. For her sake, for the sake of all the other trainers who had been eliminated as well, and for the sake of the family and friends supporting him all around the world, he had to pull through for them. He was going to earn that battle against Leon, and then he was going to defeat him.
First things first, however, he needed to get past Steven Stone.