SnowySummers
Bug Catcher
Trapped inside the Ketchum household during a winter snowstorm, Iris is finally unable to dodge the question of exactly *why* she hates the cold so much. She just prays that her friends and Pokemon don’t think of her differently as she tells the story of the worst night of her life.
“Argh! I hate winter!” Iris griped as she stared out of the Ketchum household’s window. “I wanna be outside…”
“Ax!” Axew yelled out in agreement with his trainer as he was held in her arms against her belly. “Axew…” The Pokemon whined with a pout.
“Yeah, yeah, Iris, we know.” Ash nodded at the back of the girl's head with a comfortable smile as Iris kept looking out the window to the outside. “You’ve told us.” He reminded the girl while casually scratching Pikachu’s ear as he sat on the couch furthest away from the living room window.
“Just because I’ve said it before doesn't make it any less true!” Iris spat back at her friends with her cheeks puffed out in annoyance. “Don’t be such a kid and use your head!”
“Goodness. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who hates snow as much as you, Iris.” A voice rang out, causing Ash and Iris to turn and see Delia walking into the living room with three mugs of steaming hot chocolate. Mimey was right behind her holding two small bowls for Pikachu and Axew. “But I’ve made something to warm us up!”
“Oh cool! Thanks, Mom!” Ash enthusiastically declared. Pikachu cheered in jubilation at the offering of the warm, sweet drink.
“It isn’t cool, Ash. It’s hot.” Iris ‘corrected’ her friend as she took one of the mugs from Delia to the sound of Ash’s groan at the annoying joke. “Thank you so much, Miss Delia.”
“Oh course, dear. It’s my pleasure.” Delia smiled warmly at her son’s friend as she took the bowls from Mimey’s hands. She then gently placed them on the ground as Pikachu and Axew excitedly sprinted over. “I’m glad you decided to stay. I would’ve been worried about you in this weather.”
“Yeah, well… It wasn’t like I had much choice, did I?” Iris sighed as she sat down on the couch beside Ash. “Especially with this kid guaranteeing me that the train was ready by now!” Iris jabbed with a glare at Ash.
“Hey! Being two months off from the Magnet Train being finished isn’t that far off…” Ash tried to defend himself, though the sharp gaze from all five other entities in the room, human and Pokemon alike, caused the boy to hang his head. “Sorry…”
“Eh. It’s whatever. At least you’re helping me get stronger.” Iris stopped glaring at her friend with a shrug as Axew gave a flex with a smile. The daily training that Ash and Iris were doing together was making a difference as far as Iris could tell. “And I get to play with all sorts of Pokemon at Professor Oak’s Lab.”
“Well, I’m glad that you’re at least not bored.” Delia smiled at the girl as she sat down on the loveseat in the corner of the room. “And I hope that your friend is alright. I hope he didn’t get trapped in this blizzard.”
“Oh, Cilan?” Ash questioned before smiling. “Yeah, he made it to Viridian City yesterday. He’s fine.”
“Yeah, Cilan goes at his own pace sometimes, but it always works out for him.” Iris shrugged. “I thought about going with him but… snow,” Iris finished with a harsh shiver, causing the girl to take a quick sip of her hot chocolate.
Nodding at the two of them, Delia took a sip of her hot chocolate as well, leading the group to sit in silence for a few seconds before Delia decided to pick the conversation back up. “Say, Iris. Forgive me for prying… but why do you dislike winter so much?”
Iris silently groaned at the question as Ash poked at her sides. “Go on, say it. I know you’ve been dying to let it out.” Her friend teased her with that stupid smile he sometimes had.
“Because dragons hate the cold!” Iris blurted out with clear disdain for the topic. “They’re weak to Ice-Type moves, flying becomes super hard in the snow, scales don’t help with the cold as much as fur does, and the cold just sucks!!!” Iris’s rant finally concluded with a large huff as she turned her head.
“Yeah, Mom. She really doesn’t like the cold.” Ash backed up his friend with a smile that signaled he’d heard this many times before.
The woman, seemingly satisfied with the girl's outburst as a response, merely nodded as she took another sip of her drink. “I see. Well, if you feel so… strongly about ice types and the cold, what about Fairy types? You seem fine with Mimey well enough.”
“Hm?” Iris seemed confused by the question for a moment as she tilted her head, and then her eyes went wide as if she just remembered or realized something. “Oh! Yeah, I don’t like Fairy Types that much, either. But not as much as Ice types and the cold… No offense, Mimey…”
Iris’s sheepish apology to the Pokemon seemed to fall on deaf ears as the Pokemon held his head low. “Mime…” The Pokemon responded before walking out of the living room and heading toward the kitchen.
“Look at what you did. How dare you…” Ash lightly teased his friend as she let out a soft whine. “Ah, it’ll be fine. He’ll forgive you if you apologize later.”
“Iris,” Delia started before pausing as she stared at the girl for a moment, likely collecting her thoughts. “You don’t like Fairy types? Then why were you playing with the Clefairy and Wigglytuff at Oak’s Lab when I went over today?”
Iris gulped at that, seemingly unprepared for the question. “Well, they just… wouldn’t leave me alone. That’s why.”
That response caused Axew to look up, shake his head quickly, and then smile. The tiny Pokemon then pointed at his trainer before he began to chase Pikachu around with his arms outstretched. The yellow Pokemon seemingly played along with the demonstration.
“Yeah, Axew’s right. You were kinda chasing them around all day, Iris.” Ash noted as he rubbed his chin. “And you always said how cute and huggable the Cottonees were whenever we saw them.
“Hmmm…” Delia hummed aloud as she kept staring at Iris, who seemed to be trying to hide her face behind the mug containing her hot chocolate. “So Iris, do you like Fairy types or not?”
After a small moment of silence, Iris spoke up again. “Well, I guess I don’t really have a problem with them…”
“Really?” Ash questioned as he raised his eyebrow. “But why though? I would think that you hated them just as much as ice types.”
“Another question would be: why lie about it?” Delia added with a patient, if curious, tone of voice. “Not liking something is one thing, but lying about it when being asked directly is another. We would like an explanation, Iris.”
“Yeah!” Ash agreed with a smile as Pikachu climbed up onto his shoulder, the Pokemon returning to his usual perch after finishing his hot chocolate.
After a small moment and a deep breath, Iris finally opened her mouth again. “First off, I don’t hate any Pokemon, ice types included. They’re just… scary.” Iris finished with a small shiver as she glanced out at the outside, white world again. “And second: I lied because… because the truth is… it’s just stupid. You two would-”
“Now, Iris,” Delia called to the girl with a much more firm, ‘mother putting her foot down’, tone of voice as she stared into the girl’s maroon eyes. “The truth is never stupid. It can be difficult and confusing, but it isn’t stupid.”
“Yeah, Iris.” Ash nodded with a smile on his face to the girl. “Even if it’s stupid, you tell me that the things that I do or say are stupid all the time. I think that you’re overdue for some stupidity, huh?”
Ash’s comment seemed to strike a nerve with Iris. The girl glared at her friend intensely, looking as if she was about to punch him in the arm or something, but had her concentration, and subsequent anger, broken by Axew climbing up onto Iris’s lap and staring up at the dark-skinned girl with a curious ‘Ax?’.
“I… ugh. Fine!” Iris eventually spat out after staring at Axew for a few seconds. Pulling the Pokemon’s back into her belly in a hug, Iris sighed as she spoke again. “I lied about not liking Fairy types because… then my explanation about ice types doesn't make sense.”
Ash was seemingly puzzled by that response from his friend. Both Ash and Pikachu stared off into space as they tried to translate the girl's words, though coming up with nothing. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” Delia took the opportunity to explain to her son. “That Iris was lying. Again. But this time about why she doesn’t like ice types. Am I right, Iris?”
A slow nod was the only response she gave at first until a few apprehension-filled seconds passed. “I’m sorry… It’s just… I don’t like to tell people.”
“Well, tell people what?” Ash asked with a deep frown as he crossed his arms. He didn’t seem too pleased to learn that Iris was lying to him. “I don’t get it. Why would you lie about something like this?”
“It…” Iris frowned deeply as she hugged Axew tighter into her belly as she looked down. “It’s personal…”
“Most lies usually are, Iris.” Delia nodded at the girl while glancing at her son and signaling for him to calm down. “But that doesn’t tell us the truth, does it?”
“No…” Iris shook her head as her vision began to grow cloudy. Her eyes filled with tears as her friend seemed mad at her and his mother seemed more disappointed than anything. “No, it doesn’t. I’m sorry.”
“I just…” Ash grumbled slightly as he sounded more hurt than anything. “…want to know what’s so important that it would make you lie to me and Cilan? I mean, we’re your friends. I thought that you could trust us with stuff.”
“Now Ash, if she says it’s personal, we can’t force her to tell us.” Delia shook her head at her son. “You’re still going to be her friend no matter what and she will always be allowed in this home.”
“Yeah! Of course.” Ash nodded quickly before sighing. “But still-”
“I was abandoned, okay?!” Iris whimpered out quickly under her breath shakily. The girl was on the edge of sobbing as she felt as if her stomach was knotting so tightly that she was going to vomit. “Fine. There. You have the truth.”
The silence was deafening. All five entities in the room sat in utter silence as the girl’s words echoed around in their heads. Most were staring at Iris in disbelief or bafflement, while Iris herself was silently staring out of the window into the white void that was the wintry Kanto countryside.
“Pichu-pi?” was the first voice that broke the agonizing silence. Pikachu was staring at her with a worried, apprehensive look. Iris didn’t even know if the Pokemon could even comprehend what exactly was being said by the humans, but he probably knew that something was wrong.
“S… sorry…” Iris dribbled out after fighting to remember how to speak. “I don’t tell many people… obviously. It’s just… hard memories.”
“I…” Delia paused herself to sit up straight again and clear her throat. She loosed into Iris’ eyes again, though not with exactly the same look. Never the same look. They always looked at her differently… “I understand, dear. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you tell us.”
“Nono.” Iris shook her head at the woman while forcing a smile. The same smile that she practiced over and over back when she was younger and had forgotten how to smile normally. “You’re fine. Really. I guess I just need to come up with a better li-”
“Was it your parents?”
“A-Ash!!” Delia gasped at her son’s sudden, uncharacteristic curtness. She looked as if she was about to scold her son but was stopped by Iris shaking her head at the woman.
“It’s fine, Miss Delia. Really. I don’t want to hide the truth anymore.” Iris admitted to Delia. She turned her head to Ash and took a deep breath before speaking again. “No. My parents were… they were already gone. It was fosters that were supposed to be… they were taking care of me.” The words were a struggle for Iris to say, but her apprehension wasn’t going to stop her from earning back the trust and love of her friend whom she felt she betrayed.
Ash crossed his arms. Just staring at the ground in front of him, seemingly in deep thought. “Do you… want to talk about it?” He turned to face Iris again, just as concerned and worried as Pikachu was, yet he still smiled at her. “You said that you don’t tell a lot of people. Does Drayden know? Shannon? I don’t want you to have to bottle it up anymore… especially if it hurts.”
Ash’s words caught Iris off guard. Her maroon eyes were wide as she stared at her friend in disbelief. He wasn’t looking at her differently. “I… I, um… okay…” The baffled girl nodded slowly before looking down at Axew, who just stared up at his trainer with worry and confusion. She didn’t expect him to understand all that was happening due to how young he was. “I’ve never told Axew the story before, so… now is as good a time as any, I guess…”
Ash nodded as he turned his body so that his back was against the armrest and one leg was bent and resting on the couch cushion, signifying that Iris had his full attention. “Only if you want to.”
Delia nodded at the duo and got up off of the loveseat. She silently walked over and sat on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch that the two kids were sitting on, though she made sure to stay a bit away to allow Iris her personal space. “Go as slow as you like. I understand that it might be difficult. We are here for you for as long as you need,” Delia reassured her, slowly reaching out and resting a hand on Iris’s knee with a light squeeze.
Taking a deep, slow breath, Iris nodded as she closed her maroon eyes. “The first thing that I can remember was being in the backseat of a car…”
“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” The woman in the passenger seat asked cautiously as the car drove silently through the night amidst the snowstorm. Her voice was near trembling, oozing uncertainty. “I mean, can’t we just ta-”
“Verde!” The man currently driving the car yelled out in clear frustration. “We’ve talked about this! No! This was a mistake.”
“I get that, Reath, but…” The woman nodded as she trailed off while glancing into the backseat, where the young girl was currently hugging the stuffed Larvesta plushie to her chest with a deep, concerned frown. “Are you even sure that they’re open? And… I mean, isn’t this just going to get us into even more trouble?”
The man scoffed as his hand lightly slapped the steering wheel in frustration. “Of course it’s open. It’s a Jenny Station! They have to be open by law. And besides, we’re-” The man stopped himself as he glanced into his rearview mirror at the girl in his back seat. “Besides… we are leaving soon, so it doesn't matter…”
“Leaving? Where are we going?” The soft voice of the sleepy Iris rang out. The duo had woken the five-year-old up in the middle of the night and carried her to the car without explaining where they were going or what was happening. She hadn’t even had time to change out of her pajamas. “To a Jenny Station? Can I pet the Herdier when we get there?”
The two adults paused as the young girl in their back seat finally spoke up. They seemed to be wordlessly trying to figure out how to respond to the girl's question. The man, Reath, was the first to do so as he looked into the rearview mirror once more. “Y-yeah! Yeah, Iris. Actually, there's something that we need you to do for us.” His voice was much softer and gentler with the young girl than he had been with his wife.
“Really?” Iris smiled wide as she wiggled forward in her seat, eyes sparkling in excitement. She loved to help out wherever she could! Her parents even used to give her candy to help out with the chores! These two didn’t do that, but it was still fun to help out! “What can I do?!”
“Verde. Give ‘er the letter.” The man nodded his head towards his wife as his voice went back to its usual, rougher tone that the man used to talk with everyone else who wasn’t Iris.
Verde, seemingly bewildered by the request, merely tilted her head at her husband. “The letter? What letter?” The dumbstruck woman asked, gobsmacked at her husband.
“What do you mean ‘what letter’, Verde? You got it, right?” The man spat at the woman, his tone growing increasingly louder with each word spat out. “Mew’s ballsacks, woman! Why do you keep fucking everything up for me?!”
“Reath, calm down! Not in front of her!” Verde tried to stop her husband's anger before it got going into full swing. “You’ll scare her!”
“I-I’m okay… really.” Iris gulped as she shook her head. This was usual for her now. Her parents never used to fight as much as these two, but the five-year-old didn’t like to think about that fact too much. “W-what was in the letter? M-Maybe I can just remember it?”
“Maybe we can just turn around?” Verde tried to suggest with a shaking voice as she looked down at the floor of the car. “Besides, I think I forgot to lay out some food for Woobat…”
“We don’t have the time! We still have an hour to get to Mistralton if we are going to make the…” The man trailed off again as he looked into the mirror at Iris yet again, though with a much more frustrated look this time. Iris missed how her daddy would always make funny faces at her in the mirror… “Look, we just don’t have the time. Check your purse. Do you have something to write with? We’re almost there. I can write a new one.”
“Let me see…” The woman hummed as she began rummaging through the Rattatas’s nest of a purse before giving a light gasp as she pulled out a closed envelope. “No, wait! I did grab it!”
There was a harsh groan of relief as the can slowly began to slow down. “Arceus’ arms, woman! Don’t do that to me…” The man sighed as he grabbed the envelope from his wife as the car fully stopped outside a building. He was about to turn and face Iris, but his arm was grabbed by Verde.
“Are you sure this is the right thing to do, Reath?” The woman asked her husband while staring into his eyes with an intense look that Iris had never seen on the woman’s face before. “She won’t be…”
“Verde…” Reath sighed as his voice fell into the softer tone that he usually reserved for Iris. “Yes. This is the only thing to do. They’ll treat her well. And let her pet as many Herdier as she wants!” His tone lifted as he turned his face to Iris as he finished his sentence.
The previously confused and scared girl, unsure of what exactly was happening with the two adults, was easily distracted by the thought of infinite Herdier pets and let out an excited giggle. “Yay! Herdier pets! Herdier pets!”
“I… well, alright…” Verde relented with a soft frown as she let go of her husband's arm.
“Alright, Iris.” Reath smiled as he fully turned towards Iris while holding the envelope out to the girl. “I need you to take this envelope and take it to that nice lady inside that building, there!” The man finishes detailing the task before pointing out the passenger side window towards a building on the edge of the woods with a sign containing the words ‘Aspertia City Jenny’s Office’ carved into it.
“Oh! Okay!” Iris nodded with glee at her task as she held her Larvesta plushie out, “Grab onto it, Lava!!” Only to puff out her cheeks when the stuffed Pokemon’s mouth wouldn’t close around the envelope.
“Woah, Iris!” Reath pulled the letter back from the plushie. “I asked you to hold onto the letter, didn’t I? Lava is a fire type, right? Well, fire types make stuff hot and burn things like paper! That’s why it has to be you!” The man’s cheery, friendly tone and attitude were juxtaposed by the man continually glancing back at the clock on the car’s dashboard, though Iris didn’t seem to mind.
“Ohhhh…” The five-year-old nodded in understanding before reaching out with her regular hand to take the letter. “I can do it! You can trust me!” the girl declared before turning to the back door on the passenger side and trying to open it but to no avail.
“Child lock.” Verde recognized the issue and got out of the car as a burst of cool wind forced itself into the warmed space, causing Iris to shiver. It wasn’t but two seconds before her own door was opened by Verde. “Come on, Iris.” The woman encouraged the girl while holding out a hand for her to take.
The wind sent a chill up the girl's spine as it so easily penetrated the girl’s thin, Wooloo wool pajamas, though she didn’t mind the cold too much. Refusing the hand-offered to her and instead, getting out on her own. “I got it! See! I can do it! I’ll make you two super, DUPER proud!” The girl giggled as she smiled up at Verde while shivering lightly.
Verde went silent after that. It wasn’t that long but it was long enough to cause Iris to stop smiling and begin to grow worried. Did she say something wrong again? She didn’t accidentally mention her parents or break something for the umpteenth time, did she? “What’s wro-”
Before Iris could finish her question, she felt a pair of arms- Verde’s arms- wrap around and pull the much smaller girl to her. She couldn’t quite tell how long the hug lasted, but she could hear Reath in the car yelling about how ‘We have to go!’ and ‘It’s cold!’, though Verde wouldn’t break the hug just yet.
“Iris. This isn’t your fault.” Iris could feel Verde shakily whisper into her ear. “It’s ours. You deserve better than us. You. Deserve. Better. Remember that, okay?”
“O-okay…” Iris whispered back into the hug as she stood on her tiptoes in her Komala slippers. “I don’t understand but… okay.”
Iris’ answer seemed to be good enough for Verde as she broke the hug and frowned down at the girl. It looked like there were tears in her eyes. “Alright, Iris. You… be a good girl and deliver the letter with a smile on your face, okay?” She tried to smile but Reath’s yelling from behind her caused the woman to climb into the car before Iris could respond.
“Okay…” Iris mumbled in confusion at the events in front of her. Adults confused her a lot, but what was going on tonight especially confused her. “I’ll have a big smile!” Iris tried to be her usual self as she smiled brightly at the two as the door closed, only getting a nervous smile from the two in return before Iris turned around to walk towards the dimly lit building.
Two steps.
It only took two steps until she heard the hum of the car’s engine behind her pickup. Iris barely had time to turn around to see the car which she had arrived in disappear down the road into the heavy forest past the city and towards Virbank City.
They were gone.
She didn’t know how long she stood there on the sidewalk, staring at the road leading out of Aspertia City as fresh snowflakes collected on her frozen form, but she did know what caused her to move again: wind. The harsh, mountainous wind of Aspertia hit the young girl like a brick. It was cold. So cold that it hurt. She couldn’t stand there anymore.
“M-miss Jenny…” Were the only words that Iris would muster as she turned back towards the building looming over her. While it couldn’t be any larger than a moderate house, it seemed so much bigger to Iris than it had previously.
Though shaking, Iris forced her legs to move again, even if they were baby steps. The backs of her feet were already starting to feel numb as they were exposed to the open air instead of stuffed into her open-back slippers.
Halfway there already, Iris’ biggest hurdle to warmth and safety with Officer Jenny was just a few, snow-covered steps. With enough caution to make anyone believe that she was trying to avoid a Stunfisk, Iris carefully lifted her leg onto the first step, then her other leg, again, and again, until she was at the top of the small staircase. She was right there.
Reaching up to grab the metal pull handle of the door, Iris gave a soft whine as she snatched her arm back instantly as soon as her hand touched the door. It was freezing! So cold that it actively hurt to touch! “C-cold…” Iris spoke to herself as she rubbed her hand on her pajama top. Slowly, she retreated her arm into its sleeve lightly to grab ahold of the door handle again, this time with the sleeve directly touching the metal instead of her skin, and pulled.
And pulled.
And pulled.
But it wasn’t opening. Maybe it was a push. Iris did that sometimes, everyone did that sometimes. Some doors were just weird, right?
Shaking off her slight worry, Iris let out a soft grunt as she leaned her body weight into the door and pushed.
And pushed.
And pus- it wasn’t opening!! No matter how hard Iris pushed on it, the door wouldn’t open!
No longer caring about how frigid the door handle was against her skin, Iris grabbed the handle with her second hand, dropping her Larvesta plushie to the snow-covered ground, and gave a panicked grunt as she began pushing and pulling on the door as hard as she possibly could. It wasn’t letting her in!
Iris, her breath increasing with intensity, shook her head as she looked around her surroundings while she pulled as hard as she could on the door. Was anyone around? Was anyone even inside? Iris asked herself before pulling her face to the door and peering through the glass to find…
It was dark. None of the lights were on. Nobody was inside.
And the door was locked.
Finally letting go of the door handle, Iris’ breathing had increased to a point where she could barely see in front of her face due to the white cloud that escaped her mouth with each desperate exhale. She shook her head quickly as she tried to think. Think about… something, her mind was blank- frozen.
“HELLO!?” Iris’ lungs screamed out as loud as they possibly could. “IS ANYONE HERE?!” Iris’ body exploded with pleas as her fists beat on the door to the station. She could feel her vocal cords strain with each yell, but she didn’t know how to stop herself. “CAN I COME INNNNN?!”
Iris’ fists beat on the door for as long as they could, continuing long after her voice grew hoarse and strained, having to be interrupted by a cough if she tried to yell anymore. The only reason that the girl stopped beating on the door was due to the sharp jolts of pain that erupted through her arm at every strike of the glass.
She didn’t know how long she spent beating on the door to the station in vain, but she saw that it was enough time for her Larvesta plushie to gain a thin layer of snow on top of it after Iris had dropped it in her panic.
“Fire type…” Iris mumbled as she lifted the plushie and held it to her chest. “You’ll keep me warm, right, Lava?” Iris shakily asked the plushie with a whimper as she looked around for anything that could help her while bringing the toy to her chest again. The snow was already causing Iris’s thin pajamas to grow wet as it landed on her and melted due to her body heat.
Iris whimpered as she saw a whole lot of… nothing. Of course, the direction that her foster parents went in led to Route 19, and the opposite direction led back towards the main ‘hub’ of Aspertia, but both of those were a really long way away. The Jenny station that she was left in front of was less actually in Aspertia City and moreso between the town and the route.
“They… might come back…” Iris told herself with a scared sniffle as she decided to wait where she was as walking alone down the dark street for such a long way terrified her. At least, here, there was a street lamp illuminating the small building and its front.
As there were no benches or anywhere for Iris to sit, Iris, after walking around the entire building in hopes of finding either an unlocked door or a place where the wind didn't blow against her, decided that the steps that she had so much trouble with previously would be fine to sit on.
Hearing the soft crunch of the snow below her as she sat on the top step of the staircase, Iris shivered lightly as the feeling of the snow stabbed into her and crawled up her spine. “C-cold…” Iris whispered as her feet nervously shifted from side to side. They were starting to hurt now.
“C’mon Lava…” Iris gulped as she looked at the Larvesta plushie in its glass eyes. “You're a fire type. You make stuff warm. Can you help me??” Iris pleaded with the stuffed ‘Sun Pokemon’ in desperation. But the stuffed toy was just that: a toy. It couldn’t do anything. It wasn’t real, Iris reminded herself. She needed to stop acting like a little kid and get a grip! So instead, Iris focused on what she had, her clothes.
She wasn’t dressed for this. Her pajamas were already soaking wet from the falling snow and her fluffy slippers which she had begged to get from the stores just days previously were already starting to rip apart as the wet snow absorbed into the fabric. Of course, Iris’ previous panic attack as she beat and pulled on the door hadn’t helped with keeping her slippers together in the slightest.
Another harsh wind distracted her from thinking about how underdressed she was. Letting out a small whimper, Iris brought her knees to her chest with her Larvesta plushie squished between her legs and torso in an attempt to hide it from the wind like it was some sort of malicious attacker.
The gusts finally began to slow. Iris hoped that she would feel relief, yet none came. She was shivering. And she was numb. Her body wouldn't allow her to stop moving as she was left with nothing but her thoughts and fears to keep her company.
That, and the cold.
It wouldn’t stop. The wind had picked up again, seemingly just kept beating her again and again as if she had done something to direct its anger at her. She just wanted it to stop. Make it stop! She wanted to be inside. She wanted to go back to bed already. She wanted to… to…
“I want mommy and daddy…” Iris whimpered to nobody as tears filled her eyes. She didn’t know exactly why she had said it, but she did.
“I wanna go home…” Iris sobbed to herself while burying her head into her knees. Her body shook as if it were in a constant earthquake. She was trying to cry quietly to herself, the same way she used to just after her parent's disappearance, but another beating from the chill winds caused Iris to let out a scared sob as she hugged herself as tight as she possibly could to escape from her new, awful caretaker.
It hurt. It had before, but now all that Iris felt was numbness. She tried to squeeze her knees with her fingers, but she couldn’t feel anything. She knew that she was tightening her grip, she could see it, after all, but she just couldn't feel it. She couldn’t feel anything.
Except exhaustion.
Iris was so, so tired. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there - it could have been a few minutes, or it could have been hours. Truthfully, Iris couldn’t care anymore about how long she had been there or how long it would be until Officer Jenny came back. She just wanted to close her eyes and go back to sleep already, but she couldn't.
Every time Iris tried to close her eyes and finally let herself drift off to sleep, another brutal gust of wind would attack her, causing the girl to have to clench her stiff body tightly in agony at yet another beating by the awful chill. She was so tired of feeling nothing but numb and cold.
Looking down at her plushie as it was held closely between her legs and chest, Iris frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that erupted was a shaky wheeze as her vocal cords felt raw due to her previous screaming and sobbing fits. Deciding to not bother and talk with her only companion anymore, Iris weakly closed her eyes again.
“Aud…” A soft sound stirred Iris slightly as that was the first sound besides herself and the howling wind that she had heard since she was abandoned there. Upon opening her maroon eyes, Iris could see… something blurry. Was it an angel?
“Audino!” The now much louder voice called out, causing Iris to flinch slightly as her eyes jolted open fully. Now, finally being able to see correctly, Iris could see that it was an Audino in front of her, and she looked worried.
Upon trying to open her mouth and speak again, Iris just let out a small wheeze at first. Swiftly, Iris tried her best to wet her mouth and throat before speaking again. “H… hi…” Iris’ first words in a while were raspy and strained, but an introduction nonetheless. Her parents always taught her to be polite, after all.
At Audino’s look of confusion and worry as the Pokemon continually looked around its surroundings, Iris whimpered a little. “A-are you lost… or something?” Iris’ spoke weakly but clear enough for the pink, large-eared Pokemon to hear, or at least understand her intentions.
The Audino, however, remained quiet and merely stepped towards Iris a few paces. Iris knew that, while all Audino that she had ever met were nice and friendly, there was a chance that wild Pokemon could be mean. Iris knew that, but she didn’t care anymore if this Audino hurt her. It wasn’t like she could try and run or anything. She barely had the energy to talk, much less run.
However, instead of hurting the poor five-year-old, the only thing that the stout Pokemon did was lay a gentle paw against Iris’ forehead. What must have looked like such a simple interaction to anyone else felt so… warm to Iris. This Pokemon was warm… and soft. Oh, so soft. Without even thinking about it, Iris was leaning forward against the Pokemon’s arm with a sigh. Only for the Pokemon to rip its arm away.
In an instant, Iris was brought right back to reality as the icy chill stabbed into its favorite victim once more. Opening her eyes once more to look up at the Audino again, Iris watched helplessly as the Pokemon ran back towards the woods that it had doubtlessly emerged from.
“W… wait!” Iris weakly called out to the fleeing Pokemon in desperation. “Come back! Please!” Desperately searching for some hidden strength that might be within her, Iris grabbed onto the handrail that had been leaning against. She attempted to pull herself up but instead, all that the girl accomplished was pulling herself to her feet just enough to pull her off the top step before her last strength gave out.
Tumbling down the steps with a pained grunt, Iris cried out in the direction of the woods while tears fell down her cheeks as she now lay fully on the ground on her belly. “Don’t leave me!” Iris sobbed out in agony as everything was somehow in pain, yet still numb to the point of not being able to feel her own body.
Iris didn’t know how long it was. She wasn’t even thinking anymore. It had taken everything that she had to merely roll herself back onto her side and return to the fetal position, but she couldn't even sit up anymore. She was left again. She was tired of it. She was tired of being left behind. Tired of the cold. Tired of the wind.
She was just tired.
“Audi! Audino!” A panicked voice rang out again as Iris struggled to merely close her eyes and finally go back to bed. It wasn’t Audino. She didn’t come back. Nobody comes back.
“Purr?” Another voice called out not long after the first. “Loin! Loinloinloin!” the voice repeated as it grew louder and louder. It was almost like it was getting closer.
Iris didn’t want to open her eyes again. She didn’t want this to be like when she thought that she could hear her mommy's voice after they left. She didn’t want to have hope, just for it to be another one of the cold’s cruel attacks again.
“Patrat!” A third voice called. The sounds were still getting closer and closer. “Rat rat!”
Iris couldn’t take it anymore. If opening her eyes just one more time would be enough to make the noises stop so that she could finally sleep, Iris would do it. She would do anything at this point.
“Audinooooo!” The loudest voice called out right in front of Iris’ face as she opened her maroon eyes one last time. Iris was left in shock. She had… come back?
Looking up at the distraught Pokemon, Iris let out a pained whimper as the Pokemon laid her hands on the girl to sit her up. Every movement was as if sharp knives were stabbing into her. “Y-you… came back?” Iris blinked at the Audino in complete disbelief.
“Aud…” The Pokemon nodded before walking over and sitting on the ground right beside Iris, hugging the human close. Iris felt warm again… It was so… so… weird. If Audino was hugging her left side, why did her right side and chest feel so warm too?
Upon looking away from Audino for the first time since she had opened her eyes, Iris found that an entire group of Pokemon had practically collapsed into her. Audino was hugging her left while a Watchog hugged her right. Two Patrat were hugging her legs, one for each leg, of course, and a Purrloin had climbed up onto Iris’ shoulders and wrapped itself around the back of her neck.
Iris felt… warm.
Sure, Iris knew that she was still freezing and everything hurt more than anything else she had ever experienced before, but she was warm. But still, she was so tired, so she tried to close her eyes again, only to get bapped on the forehead by Audino.
“Why…” Iris asked weakly with an exhausted plea. “I’m… sleepy…” Iris begged her savior, only for Audino to shake her head firmly and have her eyes go wide, signaling as to what Iris should do.
In an attempt to help the girl, Watchog began to gently slap her back with his tail and flash his stripes whenever he noticed that the girl's eyes were beginning to close. Iris just didn’t understand why they couldn’t let her sleep. Hadn’t she earned her rest yet?
The group was soon reminded as to why they couldn't let the girl sleep as yet another blistering chill wind beat against them, with Watchog and Audino trying to shield the human and the smaller Pokemon with their bodies. Iris could feel them shivering but wasn’t shivering in the slightest, herself. It all just still felt so numb to her.
After the gusts finally stopped for a moment, Watchog flashed his stripes yet again to jolt Iris awake. The poor five-year-old didn’t understand why they were doing this to her but found that she was too tired to question anymore. She just wanted this to be over.
Iris lost track of time again. Through the endless barrages of wind thrown at the group, the constant flashing of Watchog stripes to keep her awake, and the soft chittering of the Patrat duo’s teeth as they shivered against Iris’ legs, Iris realized something: She was getting colder again. Their heat was starting to run out as they sheltered Iris, but she didn’t want them to be like her! It had probably been an hour or two since her new friends had come to save her, but she didn’t want them to suffer.
“Can… we go inside now…?” Iris eventually mustered up the strength to whimper out while pointing at the building behind the group. “It’s warm… inside. Y-you won’t be cold…”
At the girl’s offer, Audino and Watchog looked at each other, as if they were trying to decide what to do. After a small back and forth of ‘Aud’ and ‘Chog’ between the two larger Pokemon, Watchog pulled away from Iris, much to the young girl’s agony as she whimpered in response to the cold air. One of the Patrat duo tried to take his place but it just wasn’t enough to shield the girl.
As Watchog walked off towards the station, Iris desperately tried to think of anything else to look at or think about to keep her mind off of how numb she felt. She found herself staring at Lava; her Larvesta plushie had rolled out of reach after she had fallen down the stairs. A layer of snow covered the plushie like previously, except there was just more of it this time, but Purrloin seemed to have followed Iris’ sight and seen what she was looking at.
In one swift motion, Purloin had hopped off of Iris’ back, grabbed the plushie in its maw, placed it on Iris’ knees, and assumed his previous position back on Iris’ back. Iris would have clapped if she could feel her… anything.
At the sound of tapping glass, Iris assumed that Watchog must be trying to get into the station. She just hopes that he doesn't break in. The last thing that Iris wants is to be responsible for breaking another window… or door.
As the tappings got louder, Iris tried not to think about getting in trouble with Officer Jenny by looking up at the sky. It was cloudy, but it seemed like the sun would be coming up soon.
Iris had stayed up all night… She had never done that before. Of course, that isn’t for lack of trying. Be it the wind or her new friends keeping her awake, Iris had plenty of excuses as to why she didn’t get any sleep.
Deciding to try and plead one last time with her savior, Iris slowly turned to look up at Audino and open her mouth again but froze when she heard something new. Something… like an engine!
Before Iris had a chance to think, a bright light whipped through the trees from the direction of Aspertia City. It was a motorcycle! And it was pulling into the small road beside the station which led to the back, only for the motorcycle to stop halfway.
“Wha-...” A feminine voice called out from behind. Iris couldn’t move to see what was happening, she could barely think still. “What are you doing?! Get out of here!” The woman yelled from behind Iris.
“W-Watchog! Wat!!” Iris could hear Watchog behind her too. Realizing the situation was her fault, Iris tried to call out, but just couldn’t.
“I am not telling you again!” The woman demanded more forcefully this time. “I said to get out of here NOW!”
After that, Iris could hear something running, probably Watchog. Iris just hoped that Watchog didn’t hate her now because he got scolded because of her.
“Wha? How many more of you are there?” The Jenny called out more clearly this time as it was probably in her direction. “You all too! Get out of here! You in cahoots with that Watchog!” The Jenny, clearly frustrated to be having to lay down the law this early, demanded out.
The only thing that Audino did in response was look down at the curled-up form of Iris which she was still holding onto and smile before finally letting go. And starting to run off towards the woods, followed closely by the Patrat twins and Purrloin.
“Thank you…” Iris whispered to the Pokemon as they ran off while she tried to keep her eyes open still. A small smile on her face as she watched them run back to the woods.
There was a second of silence in the air again. It was like she was back to being alone again in the cold. The awful, tortuous, evil cold that beat on Iris again and again with wave after wave of frozen wind.
“Hey!” Jenny called out after two seconds of eternity, thankfully confirming to the girl that this wasn’t some cruel trick by the cold and that she wasn’t alone again. “I told all of you to get out of here! I mean it!” Jenny demanded once more, yet silence remained as Iris was cold again. Too cold to talk. Too cold to think. Too cold to even breathe. “I WILL call out my Herdier! Don’t make me… hurt… oh Arceus…”
Officer Jenny’s voice trailed off for a second before she began running- sprinting to the girl. She was so fast that she was in front of Iris in the time that Iris blinked. “Oh, Arceus. Oh, Distortion! I… uh…” The woman’s panic at the situation caused her to shake as she continually looked Iris up and down.
Opening her mouth to speak again, Iris shivered as another wind berated her. “H… hi… I’m Iris.”
The Jenny, seemingly dumbstruck at the girl's introduction, merely stared at Iris in disbelief for a few seconds before seemingly grounding herself nearly instantaneously. Pulling her radio off her belt and speaking as clearly as she could, Jenny yelled so loud into the device that it hurt Iris’ ears. “Dispatch! I need an ambulance to the Aspertia area Jenny station NOW! Young female, dark skin, probably around 4 years old. Hypothermic, frostbite, and… and… just get someone the FUCK over here NOW!”
“I’m 5…” Iris whispered out before flinching at another harsh wind, though the Jenny wrapping her jacket around the girl helped greatly. “I-I have… letter…” Iris whined as she tried to move her arm into her shirt, where she put it in hopes that it wouldn’t get wet.
“Shhh… it’s okay, Iris.” Jenny tried to calm the girl by gently running her hand through the girl’s hair. “Don’t talk. Help will be here really soon. Just stay awake and look at me, okay? Can you do that for me?”
“But… letter…” Iris whimpered as she shook her head. Her arm reached into her shirt.
“Dispatch, what’s my ETA on that ambulance?” Jenny yelled into her radio again as Iris weakly wrestled with her shirt, the elder woman not taking her eyes off Iris. “Well, tell them to drive faster!”
With a small grunt, Iris eventually pulled the soaked letter out and held it out to the woman as best she could, which she took so Iris could finally allow her arm to thankfully go limp again. “Can I go inside now… please… I’m sleepy…”
Iris could barely focus anymore. Everything was a fog as she tried her best to stay sitting up, but just couldn’t anymore. Leaning backward against the stairs and finally allowing her eyes to close again, Iris sighed.
“Iris? Iris, you need to stay awake for me, okay? They’re almost… here…” Jenny’s voice was drowned out by the sounds of sirens approaching. Those were the last things that Iris heard as the warm embrace of sleep finally took her into their gentle care.
“And… that’s it, I guess…” Iris exhaled exhaustedly. Her entire body shook slightly as she stared down at the top of Axew’s head. She couldn’t look Ash and Delia in the eyes anymore. She didn’t want to keep talking about this. She would break down fully if she had to look up at them and see their horrified expressions.
“W-what…” Ash finally broke the eternity of silence that lasted well over a minute. “What happened… after? I mean, did they- those people who dropped you off- were they… did they get caught?”
Ash stuttered out. Iris had never heard her friend this shaken up before. She didn’t like it. She hated it. Ash was supposed to be this idiot with endless positivity and optimism. Now he sounds almost… scared. And it was all Iris’ fault.
“And who were those people, Iris?” Delia asked much more steadily than Ash. Too steady. Iris has spent enough time with Draden to know that adults sometimes get incredibly still and ‘to the point’ when angry. Delia’s tone, while still outwardly being kind and gentle like before, masked the fact that the woman in front of Iris was furious. “Those people who left you. Were they… your parents?”
“Pi…” Pikachu melancholically muttered from his perch on Ash’s shoulder. “Pika-ka?”
Iris gulped as she heard them talk to her again. Asking questions again. Interrogating her again. Suffocating her again! She didn’t want to keep talking about this. She wanted to go back to sipping hot chocolate and bantering with Ash about how he’s an idiot. She didn’t want people to know! Would Ash ever look at her the same way a-
“Axew!!” Axew yelped as he struggled to be free of Iris’ arms that were clasping him tighter and tighter to her belly. “Axew ax!” Axew whined out with tears in his eyes as he shook his head.
“Iris!” Ash yelled in surprise right in Iris’ ear, causing her to flinch. “You’re hurting him!”
Iris was… hurting him? Oh Great Dragon, she was! With a sharp gasp and what felt like a bolt of electricity shot through her, Iris’ arms unwrapped from Axew and raised for her hands to cover her ears. They hurt. Her ears hurt like they were frostbitten.
“A-axew! I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Iris stammered out as Axew stumbled off of Iris’ lap and onto the couch between her and Ash. “I didn’t mean to! I… I have to get him to Professor Oak-”
“Iris,” Delia stated calmly as she reached out with both arms to gently remove Iris’ hands from her ears which she didn’t realize were still there. “Iris, look at him. He’s okay. He was just uncomfortable, alright?”
She was right, of course. Axew had instantly sat back up and shook his head like he had just fallen before looking back up at Iris with his big, friendly, red eyes that didn’t hint at judgment or pain, only slight worry. He was fine. He didn’t hate her. It was okay.
“Iris, are you alright?” Delia’s gentle voice rang out again while giving Iris’ hands a soothing squeeze even though Iris refused to lift her head and acknowledge the two of them. “Do you want us to stop? I understand if this is hard for you.”
Iris shook her head at that. She was fine. She was normal. She… she was fine. Talking about it was supposed to help, right? That’s what stupid therapy was supposed to be anyway, right?
“I’m okay,” Iris pleaded with the two of them while slowly raising her head just a little so that, while she was facing Delia, her eyes remained trained on Delia’s lap and not her face. “You…um… you had questions, right?”
“Y-yeah…” Ash muttered. Discomfort and what Iris could describe only as ‘fear’ still in his voice. “We were asking about what came after… and about who those people who… tried to…” Ash stumbles as he tries to find the words, ultimately giving up entirely. “Those people weren’t your parents, right? Were they even family?”
With a shaky breath, Iris shook her head while resisting the urge to wrap her arms around herself like she did while holding her old plushie or Axew. “No. No, the people who abandoned me weren’t my parents. They were just some fosters who were supposed to take care of me.”
“Oh… okay, I guess…” Ash mumbled, seemingly at least slightly satisfied with that answer before asking the incredibly obvious question. “Well then, where were your parents? Why weren’t you with them instead?”
“Ash!” Delia scolded her son as she whipped her head in his direction.
Ash stumbled for a moment before trying to defend himself with a panicked expression: “I’m just asking! She doesn’t need to answer.”
Delia shook her head quickly at that. “Ash, think abou-”
“It’s alright, Miss Delia.” Iris interrupted Delia as she looked up into their faces for the first time. “It’s Ash. Asking him to think about anything isn’t going to go well,” Iris tried to joke with a very forced grin on her face, hoping that a joke would help ease some tension that suffocated the three of them.
It didn’t. It just caused the two to stare at Iris with confusion, so Iris stopped looking at them again and found Delia’s lap more interesting to look at.
“Sorry…” Iris weakly apologized. “But, to answer your question, Ash. Nobody knows. About three months before the story, my parents just disappeared one day. I don’t know why or anything, but apparently, they went to Giant Chasm for… something and never came back.” Iris tried to keep talking normally- talking as if she wasn’t bothered by it, because she wasn’t. It was a long time ago and she’s fine now. She’s fine.
“And, for my two fosters,” Iris continued with another deep breath before Ash or Delia could speak. “I can’t remember well because I was in the hospital and super tired but I think I remember people asking me something about the Orre Region and something called ‘Team Cipher’ or something like that?” Iris just shrugged. “Apparently, the ‘dad’-” Iris visibly grimaced as the word left her mouth. “-did a lot of gambling debt so they had to run from collectors. I was just something they had to dump while running.”
Iris was trying to keep calm. Act fine. This was over half her life ago now. She should be over it by now. She was over it! She hadn’t thought about this in forever, so why was this happening?
“So they just left you beside the road and ran off to avoid answering questions,” Delia summarized with a frown while nodding. “Iris, that’s…”
“It’s horrible!” Ash declared as he rose from the couch, interrupting his mother's carefully chosen words with righteous anger. “So they nearly get you killed and then just run away to another region with no consequences?! If they were here, we’d show ‘em what they get when they do that to one of our friends, right Pikachu?”
“Pika!” The yellow mouse roared in agreement with his trainer. The Pokemon shifted into a battle-ready stance with his cheeks crackling with electricity. All the previous worry from both trainer and Pokemon had been seemingly replaced with righteous anger.
Iris turned and shook her head quickly at that. “Ash, Pikachu, no. Just no. I…” Iris trailed off and let out a sigh as she looked back down at her lap. Even if they didn’t look at her with the sad, pitying eyes that the girl so despised anymore, it still felt wrong to look at her friends for some reason. “I… I don’t want that… I’m… not angry.”
Ash, clearly taken aback by that, tilted his head just as Pikachu did before speaking. “W… wha? Why? Iris, you get mad at me for like, everything! Why aren’t you mad at the people who nearly got you killed?!”
“Ash!” Delia cried, reprimanding her son again. Even if Iris wasn’t looking at them, she could practically feel the glare that the mother was delivering to her son at that moment. “That’s enough. Iris says that she isn’t angry so she’s not.”
Ash, clearly undeterred by his mother's glare and desire to de-escalate, shook his head in response. “But… them just being out there and not being punished for sending you to the hospital and nearly killing you isn’t right! I just don’t understand why you’re not-”
“Stop it! Just stop it!” Iris screamed out while shaking her head. “I’m… I’m not angry! I’m not! I’m fine! This all happened a long time ago! I’m not angry at them! Because if I’m angry, then I have to think about them, and if I think about them, I think about that night and… and… I’m fine!”
“Ax…” She could hear Axew whimper in distress and sorry at seeing his human clearly unwell about something, even if he couldn’t understand what exactly that something was.
“Iris,” Delia pleaded, motherly worry in her voice. “You’re clearly not fine. Have you ever talked with anyone about this? About that night and how you repress everything about it?”
“No! And I’m not going to! That talking stuff is just for people who need help. And I don’t need it!” Iris declared while shaking her head. “I’m fine. I’m fine because I’m going to become a great Dragon Master one day and then I’ll have a dad and then I’ll be happy! We’ll be… I’ll be… just fine…”
Her fists clenched as she looked down at her lap after trailing off. She was trying to keep herself together, trying to keep from letting Ash and Delia see her break down. They already do nothing but pity her now, she can’t- she WON’T give them more reason only to bother to be around and interact with her out of sympathy instead of genuine friendship.
“Iris…” Ash began slowly, carefully. It was clear that he was thinking more about his words than earlier. “I don’t know how to…” He trailed off, seemingly unable to find the proper words. “I don’t know what to say… I’m sorry…”
Delia tried to reach out and grasp Iris’ clenched fists again, but Iris pulled away as she shook her head. Her vision was becoming blurry as tears began to well in her eyes. “It’s… it’s really late. I… I think that I’m going to go to bed. Come on, Axew.”
Not allowing either Ash or Delia to stop her, Iris quickly reached over and lifted Axew into her arms again before practically sprinting toward the stairs as she tried not to let any of the sobs that were building in her throat escape. Her blurry vision made it hard to hurriedly climb the stairs toward the guest room without tripping, but she arrived at the top and sprinted towards the guest room, slamming the door shut.
“I-Iris, wait!” Ash tried to call out to his friend as she turned away from him with Axew in her arms. He reached out to grab onto her shoulder so she couldn’t run, but his mom grabbed his arm wordlessly before he could and shook her head.
Delia turned her attention back to the fleeing Iris. “Goodnight, Iris. I hope you sleep well.” The mother spoke gently as Iris ran up the stairs without acknowledging the two at all. It was like his friend had simply broken down and was on autopilot.
“W… why did you do that?” Ash asked his mother after she had finally let his arm go. Delia merely sighed as she rubbed her forehead with one hand while the other wrapped around Pikachu, pulling him into her lap.
“Well, Ash, why do you think she ran?” His mother's words were labored and tired. She was stressed. So was he, to be honest. Did Iris hate him now?
His mother's question caught him off guard. He stammered slightly for a second before crossing his arms and wondering. “She… was crying?”
“Yes, Ash. She was crying.” Delia nodded. “And most people don’t want to be seen crying around their friends. So let's just give her some space. Tonight has been a rough night for her.”
“But she’s my friend!” Ash argued. “If she’s like this, then I should go and try and help somehow.”
Delia sighed at that. Reaching out to gently cup Ash’s cheek in her hand as she gave her son a proud, if tired, smile. “I know, sweetie. And I’m happy that you want to help so badly. I’m proud of you for that. But there's nothing you can do. Not right now. Just give her some space, Ash.”
Ash frowned heavily at that. That just… didn’t sound right. His friend, one of his best friends was upset, hurting even, and apparently the best thing to do was to do… nothing? She was just a few feet away from him! He could do something. He had to do something!
“What… what do I do?” Ash eventually asked with a deep frown as his mom pulled her hand away from his face. “I mean, if I can’t go help Iris… what do I do?”
Delia went silent for a moment at the question. His mother reaches down to pick up the now-cooled mugs of hot chocolate, only to hold one out for Ash. “Sit here with me and watch the snow?”
“I…” Ash stared down at the cup for a moment. “Okay… I guess.”
Ash nodded a little. He felt defeated- as if he was failing to be a friend. Well, maybe he had failed a friend already. He’d had no clue that Iris was an orphan. He had just thought that Drayden was her dad and they were fighting or something. He wasn’t exactly close with his dad, so he had no baseline on what to think about Iris and Drayden.
“Are… are you okay, Mom?” Ash asked after a few seconds. He was tired of the silence that was only broken by the muffled, barely audible sobbing coming from upstairs.
Delia didn’t answer immediately. She just took a sip of her drink while she continued to stare out at the snow. “I… don’t know, Ash. She says that she doesn't want us to look at her differently but…It’s hard not to, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…” Ash nodded a little. “I just… can’t believe that that happened to her. I mean, I knew that she was scared of the cold and ice types, but I just thought that that was because Dragons are weak against Ice Types…”
“Well, that’s what she wanted you to think was the reason, so you can’t be mad at yourself about that. Don’t blame yourself, either. I don’t blame you, Ash.” Delia stated as she turned her head to look her son in the eyes. “Do you understand?”
Ash gulped as he felt the pressure from his mother. He knew that she was trying to make him not feel bad, but it wasn’t exactly working as he felt like garbage no matter what. “Y… yeah, mom. Um… are you thinking about anything else?”
“I’m thinking… that it looks nice out there… with the snow coming down.” Delia slowly turned to look back out the window while taking a sip of her cocoa. “I’m thinking about how it reminds me of the night that your father left.”
“Yeah…” Ash sighed softly while joining her in looking out the window. “You told me about that. Are… you okay?”
“I am, Ash.” Delia turned to smile at him genuinely, if a little tired. “But what about you? Are you okay? What are you thinking about?”
Ash went silent at that. The boy just closed his mouth with a frown as he looked back at the snow. There were so many indescribable emotions fluttering around in his chest. He knew he was tired, that he was worried about Iris, but there were so many that Ash couldn’t recognize.
After a short bit, Ash finally opened his mouth again. “I’m thinking about… Hey, did I ever tell you about when I got separated from Brock and Misty on the way to Stone Town?”
“Pika…” Pikachu visibly shuttered at the mention of that, causing Delia to raise an eyebrow.
“No, dear. I don’t think you did.” Delia stated cautiously.
“Oh. Well, it was in these big mountains during a snowstorm. It was snowing so heavily that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. I… don’t remember how it happened, but I remember getting separated from Brock and Misty and stumbling into a cave to try and ride out the storm. Don’t tell Misty but… I was terrified.”
“Oh, Ash,” Delia cooed while grasping Ash’s arm. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“It’s fine, mom. Really. I still had my Pokemon so I wasn’t totally alone, not like… like her…” Ash trailed off with a frown as he glanced back to the staircase before continuing to stare out the window. “It’s because of them that I even survived. I tried to stuff Pikachu back in his Pokeball and even used my jacket as a blanket over my Pokeballs, but Pikachu refused to go back in and, eventually, everyone jumped out and just crowded around me in a big hug. I’ll never forget that moment…”
“Ash…” Delia called worriedly as she rubbed her son’s arm. “Do you… want to talk with someone about that?”
“Huh?” Ash turned back to his mother with a shocked expression before smiling and shaking his head. “Oh, nono. It’s just Iris' story… it reminded me of it, I guess.”
“Alright, dear…” Delia nodded slowly, her voice full of worry. “Just… please don’t be afraid to tell me if… if you need help, alright? And, I love you, okay?”
“Heh. Of course, Mom.” Ash smiled at her brightly. “I love you too. And sorry for bringing that story up. It’s just… I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Yes, Ash?” Delia goated her son further.
Letting out a small sigh, Ash stared out into the pitch-black night of the Pallet Town fields as specks of white drifted down to make a blanket covering the ground as far as the eye could see. He stared at the icicles on the edges of his front porch which threatened to crack and fall at any moment, at the layer of ice which surrounded the window he was looking out of.
“I think… I hate the cold,” Ash admitted while not tearing his eyes away from the window.
Delia, seemingly taken aback by this, stared at her son for a few seconds before reaching over and rubbing his back gently as she joined him in looking out the window. “I do too, Ash. I think I do too.”
Iris’s muffled sobs echoed around the guest bedroom of the Ketchum household as the young girl continually cried into the pillow that she was hugging into her chest for dear life. She didn’t know how to make the constantly falling tears stop. No matter how hard she tried to think of anything else, she could only think of that horrid night.
She could feel Axew rubbing her back, nuzzling against it worriedly along with the Pokeballs in her pocket that could hear their human weeping uncontrollably. Iris knew that they were worried, that they just wanted to help, to soothe their human in any way they could, but Iris just couldn’t face them. Not like this. It was bad enough that Axew was seeing her in this state, but her whole team? Iris would rather jump off a building than face them all face-to-face.
“I’m sorry…” Iris whimpered as she turned to finally face her worried Axew. “I’m sorry… I hate being like this. Do…” Iris broke to let out another sob. “Do you want to go back in your Pokeball?”
“Ax!” Axew vehemently shook his head at his trainer with the face he always made when he was stubborn… or worried. “Ax- Axew?”
Iris couldn’t tell what he was asking as Axew’s head tilted. Her best guess was that he was asking if there was anything he could do to help, so Iris decided to just go with that. “Axew… J-just please don’t let the others see me like this… I don’t want them to think that I… I’m…”
Iris couldn't continue as she broke down into another flurry of shaking sobs as she stuffed her head back into her pillow to not cry too loud and let Ash and Delia know how much of a mess she was. She was so distraught that she didn’t realize that her Pokeballs had been shaking more and more.
Pop!
The sounds of several Pokeballs opening at once caused chills to be sent through the girl's body. She didn’t want to look. She couldn’t look! Looking at them would make this all real, and this was… this was a dream! Yeah, this was all just a bad drea-
“Drago…” Iris’s desperate thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her Dragonite’s usually low, almost annoyed voice echoing around the room. Though, it was different this time. He sounded almost… concerned. Gentle, even! “Nite… gonite…”
Iris steeled herself as best she could. Pushing her previously erupting emotions down as deep as she could- as deep as they were before- as Iris sat up in her bed to see… them.
Dragonite and Excadrill were standing at the foot of the bed. Emolga was standing on top of Excadrill’s head while Axew stood on the bed between them. Iris couldn’t exactly describe their expressions but they seemed almost… distraught.
“H-Hey guys…” Iris shakily worded as best she could. “Is something the matter? I thought that you’d all be asleep by now…” That was a lie. Glancing over at the clock beside the bed, it read just 7:32 PM. She knew that they weren’t asleep.
Flipping her tear-stained pillow over, Iris continued as best she could while shaking. “Did you guys want to do some training? I want to too, but It’s really-” Iris froze as Dragonite took a step closer.
The Pokemon was walking to Iris’ side of the bed. Were they angry at her? Did they hate her just like Ash surely did now? She… she had to do something!
Dragonite only took two more steps before Iris commanded with as stern a voice as she could. “Get… get back in your Pokeballs. We’ll do some training tomorrow. Return!” Iris demanded as she reached into her pocket to pull out each of their Pokeballs. She had to hold her wrist with her other hand to stop it from shaking.
Dragonite only stopped for a moment to give a deep ‘Huff’ before the Pokemon continued approaching Iris. “D-Dragonite! I’m serious!” Iris pleaded with her most ill-behaved Pokemon. “Retur-”
It happened in a flash. Iris barely had time to flinch.
She had thought that she had died. That Dragonite had bit down on her head and that was it for her, but… no. It was dark, but it also felt so much… warmer, somehow. Reaching around with her hands, she could feel Dragonite’s scales against her hands, her arms, and even her face!
Dragonite… was hugging her? It was a strange feeling, certainly one that she never thought that she would ever feel, but there was no doubt about it. Dragonite was hugging her. He felt… warm. She could feel the heat from the flame sacks in his chest… or was that his heartbeat? Iris couldn’t tell.
And Iris wouldn’t get the chance to think about it more as she let out a surprised yelp at the sudden sensation of weightlessness. Dragonite was lifting her now!
“D-Dragonite?!” Iris called as she pulled her head away from the Pokemon’s chest while the Pokemon kept his arms crossed over her back. “W-What are you doing? Where are we going?”
Her Pokemon stayed silent to her questions. The large Dragon merely turned and walked towards the wall of the guest bedroom they were standing in. Before Iris could ask any more questions, she had been flipped around so that her back was against Dragonites chest as he sat down leaning against the wall.
“Nite…” Dragonite muttered as he placed Iris down so that she was seated in the middle of his crossed legs. It was… surprisingly comfortable. For such an asshole brute of a Pokemon sometimes, Iris never thought that he could be gentle like this.
“W-what are you…” Iris stammered out, only to be met face-to-face with Excadrill. Her starter looked… hurt, and she couldn’t exactly blame him, either. She had never told Excadrill her story for as long as she had known him…
Overcome with shame again at the sight of her starter, the Pokemon who she is supposed to be the closest to in the entire world, Iris felt tears welling in her eyes. Searching for the correct words to say but finding none, Iris just whimpered. “I’m… I-I’m so sorry for never telling you…”
“Exca…” Excadrill somberly shook his head as he reached out to gently wipe the tears off Iris’ cheek before wrapping her into a hug. One which Iris accepted as her face fell over his shoulder while sobs began to erupt again.
Emolga landed on the back of Iris’ neck and hugged the rear of the girl’s head as Iris sobbed into Excadrill’s shoulder. Dragonite kept her arms around his trainer's belly so that she couldn’t try and escape from his grasp. And finally, Axew ran up and squeezed himself between Excadril and Iris. The tiny Pokemon stood on Dragonite’s arms as he tried to hug Iris’ chest as best he could.
Now completely trapped in the cuddle pile comprised entirely of her Pokemon, Iris had no choice but to face them as emotions and memories poured out of her. Emotions that she hated with every fiber of her being. Memories that she so desperately wanted to be rid of but knew that she would never, truly, be free from. The emotions and memories that she tried so desperately to bury and never think about again as she was so sure that everyone would despise her for them.
But her Pokemon loved and accepted her for them regardless. Even though she lied to them. To all of them, including Ash. Everyone still saw her the same way, Ash included.
She was loved.
She was warm again…
Being held like this, embraced by all her Pokemon at once, was the most comfortable thing she had ever felt. Iris didn’t know if it was the comfort of being held, the exhaustion of the emotions that had erupted out of her, or one of the dozen other things that had mapped in the past several hours, but Iris began to feel her eyes grow heavy after choking out the last sob into Excadrill’s shoulder.
“Thank you… I love you guys…” Iris sighed in comfort before letting the warm embrace of sleep drift her away.
It was a bright, sunny, winter morning. Iris had found herself staring out the window just to watch the trees fly by. She was still sleepy, but the doctors said that she would feel like that for a while while she was on the medicine they gave her and ‘recovering her strength’ as they said.
“Iris?” A feminine voice called out from the front seat. “Were you listening, Iris?”
Iris jumped a bit. She was so used to the hospital staff talking to each other and not her that she had forgotten to listen to the lady! “Um… N-No… I’m really sorry, miss.”
“It’s fine, Hon.” The social worker that Iris couldn’t remember the name of brushed off Iris's inattentiveness. “I was telling you about the place where we are going. It’s just north of Opelucid City! Have you ever been to Opelucid city, dear?”
“Um… Yeah.” Iris nodded. “Mister Reath took me there sometimes while he played those games. The spinny ones that sparkle. Um…” Iris murmured as she tried to think of the name. It was on the tip of her tongue!! “Oh!! Slot machines! Yeah!”
Iris giggled, happy that she remembered the name of the game, but the Social Worker certainly wasn’t happy. The woman merely frowned for a moment before piping back up again with a smile. “Well, this place doesn't have any of those but what it does have is a whole bunch of Pokemon!”
Iris gasped out as she leaned forward in excitement. The only reason she stopped was because the Seatbelt couldn’t go any further. “Really?! Are they friendly? Do I get to play with them? Do they have trainers? I’m gonna be a trainer one day, did you know?”
The Social Worker giggled brightly at the energy-filled girl as she listened. “Oh my! Well, I don’t know the specifics but that would be a good question to ask your foster! Do you wanna talk about her?”
Iris’ mood instantly, and visibly, dropped. “Do I have to get a new foster…?”
Again, the Social Worker frowned for a moment before piping back up with her usual cheeriness. “Yes, hon. I’m afraid you do… but this one isn’t like those last two! You were the first foster those previous two had ever had, while this nice lady that we are going to go see has had a whole bunch of fosters before you.”
“Really?” Iris’ eyebrow raised at that. “How many?”
“Well,” The woman giggled. “Let’s just say that she’s been fostering before even I was born! She’s fostered a lot!”
“Woah!” Iris cried as her eyes sparkled. “That is a lot! Is… is she nice?” Iris tentatively asked with a gulp. She was taught by her parents to not be picky, but she really didn’t want to have fosters that used to fight as much or lock her in her room as much as her previous ones did.
Noticing Iris's trepidation, the Social Worker looked into the rear-view mirror to look Iris in her eyes. “She’s super duper nice. In fact, she was actually planning on retiring after her previous foster got adopted… But as soon as she heard about you, she called us and demanded that you come to her.” The Social Worker giggled as she finished the story.
“Wow… So she chose me?” Iris wondered aloud, clearly in awe.
“Mhm!” The woman nodded as she turned the car onto a dirt road. “And if you’re worried about something, her previous foster was adopted by a couple in the village! So I’m sure that you two will be friends. Her name is Shannon and she’s a sweetheart, just like you.”
Iris giggled at the praise and smiled wide. “Alright, miss. Um… But you still promise to call and come get me if- when my mommy and daddy get back, right?”
The woman frowned at that again. Her face remained in a frown for even longer than usual, but it suddenly turned back into a smile again, just as it always did. “Yes, Hon. Of course… Just… don’t be afraid to get comfortable here, alright?”
Iris frowned a little at that. Sure, it was a long shot, but there was always the chance that they would come back… right? “A-alright, Miss. Yes ma’am.”
“Good girl…” The Social Worker nodded slightly before visibly perking up. “And there we go. There it is, straight ahead, Iris.”
Iris gasped as she wiggled forward as much as she could before letting out a grunt as she undid her seatbelt so that she could squeeze her head between the two front seats. It was… big! And pretty! There were green fields everywhere, giant statues of two Pokemon she’d never seen before, wooden houses, and a whole bunch of trees! Iris could even see a few Pokemon running around in the woods.
But what caught Iris’ eyes as the car got closer to the buildings was… the crowd. There was a moderately sized crowd waiting at the end of the first road that the car was driving down. The idea of a crowd gathering for her made the little girl’s stomach drop.
Now feeling much more shy and worried, Iris tentatively muttered “A… are you sure that this is the right place, miss?”
“Now, now, Iris. Don’t be scared.” The Social Worker tried to comfort Iris upon noticing the girl’s sudden nervousness. “These people just want to meet you and make sure that you feel welcomed.”
“O… Okay…” Iris gulped as she felt the car roll to a stop in front of the crowd of what looked to be six or seven people. Iris couldn’t get out on her own thanks to the child lock on the door, but she certainly wasn’t excited and trying to get it to open.
Hearing the driver's side door close caused the girl to flinch a bit as she could feel all the eyes on her. There were four adults, two kids who seemed to be about her age, and one old lady. They all seemed… nice. Smiling patiently as the Social worker ran around the car, one of the girls who was around Iris’s age waved to her. Iris tentatively returned the wave with her own.
Feeling a rush of air as the door opened, the Social Worker reached out to take Iris’ hand. “Let’s meet your new caretaker and neighbors, alright?”
“O… Okay…” Iris tentatively replied as she reached out to grab the woman's hand, allowing herself to get out of the car and stand in front of the small group of people who were all smiling warmly at her.
“Um… H…hi…” Iris stammered out while still holding onto the Social Worker's hand for what seemed like dear life. “M… my name… is… um… Iris. I-Iris Emerald.”
The girl's incredibly stilted and terrified introduction seemed to not bother the townsfolk at all. Most remained quiet to allow the girl not to feel overwhelmed while one stepped forward: The old lady.
“Hm… Welcome Iris.” The elder woman smiled at the girl with kind, magenta eyes. “My name is Lerna, but most here just call me ‘Elder’. I’m the matriarch of this village… and I will also be your caretaker for the time being.”
The woman’s kind smile seemed… genuine. Letting go of the Social Worker's hand and taking a few steps forward, Iris gulped a bit as she looked up at the woman. “You, um…” Iris murmured as she tried to find something to say, feeling the nervous tension in the air. “You’re old…”
The amount of laughter that had erupted from the crowd made Iris jump and immediately run to hide behind the Social Worker like a shield. Whatever they had expected the girl to say, it certainly wasn’t that! Even the Elder was giggling.
“Hehehe~” The woman laughed at the girl while stepping forward again as the laughter died down. “Well, you’ll certainly get no arguments there, little Iris! Come, now. Let me see you.” She enticed Iris to come forward while holding out her arm.
Iris, upon seeing that nobody was angry at her for that thing that slipped out, nervously stepped forward again and took the woman’s hand while staring her in the eyes. “I’m super sorry for saying that! I-I didn’t mean it!”
“Saying what, my child? The truth?” The Elder grinned. “Think nothing of it, Iris. Come, let’s introduce you.” Before Iris had a chance to speak, the Elder pulled her forward while turning so that Iris was standing beside her while they faced two children about Iris’ age.
“Hey! I’m Drayton! My grandpa’s the Opelucid Gym Leader.” The first boy who seemed a few years older than Iris introduced himself with a smile. “If anyone here gives you trouble, just come to me, alright? Me and Duraldon will set them straight!”
After a few seconds, the other kid, a girl, realized it was her turn. “And… My name is Shannon. It’s really good to meet you, Iris. I was in the same position as you… well, maybe not exactly the same, but…” She sighed and took a deep breath. “I used to be a foster for The Elder, like you. So please come and talk with me if you need anything, okay?”
Iris smiled at the two and nodded a little. “Thank you. It’s good to meet you two!” She hadn’t interacted with anyone her age since before her parents disappeared… so it was nice. “What do you… um… like to do around here?”
Drayton smiled at her question. “I’ll do you one better! Hey, Elder,” Drayden turned to the old lady who was standing beside Iris. “Could I show Iris around? I wanna show her all the cool places where the Pokemon hang out!”
“Pokemon?!” Iris gasped loudly. In a flash, Iris had turned to the Elder and clasped her hands together. “Please please please can I go?! I promise to be good!”
“Hmmm…” The Elder mused while she rubbed her chin for a few seconds. “Very well… but do be careful not to overwhelm the poor dear. Is that understood, Drayton?”
“Crystal!” The boy grinned before turning and starting to run away from the group with Shannon right behind him. “C’mon, Iris! I know a place where we can eat lunch!”
“Yeah!” Shannon called out behind her. “My mom makes really good dumplings!”
“Coming!” Iris called out with a wide smile on her face as she began to run after the duo without looking back.
“Oh! Iris!” The Elder called out, nearly making Iris trip as she skids to a stop. Looking back with a puzzled expression.
“Yes, Elder?” Iris asked as she tilted her head at the woman.
The lady merely smiles wide at her while staring deep into Iris’ maroon eyes. “Welcome home, Iris.”
Iris didn’t exactly know why but she could feel a smile creep on her face as she waved goodbye to the small crowd before turning back. “Hey! Wait up, you two!” Iris called out to her new best friends as she hurried to explore her new home.
This is the best thing that I have written in my life. I am so happy with how it came out and is finally done! The amazing art in this chapter was made by the wonderful @MoonMilkii on Twitter (https://twitter.com/MoonMilkii) and I am so happy with how it came out!
For those who have been following me since I started posting here, this is the starting point for a story that I never posted here because it was just bad, but one that I am still JUST as passionate about as the day I first sat down to begin writing. This story was the reason why I decided to start writing so I hope that you all can see the passion that I put into it.
Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. It would mean the world to me if you would leave a comment with any complaints, questions, gripes, things that you saw I messed up on, etc. If you would like to talk with me directly, please join the discord where me and many other awesome writers (who are WAY better than me) like to hang out: https://discord.gg/thm6uzh3zz
Again, thank you so much for reading this. I don't know when I will get back to writing this as I still feel like my skill isn't exactly there yet to do the story justice, but I hope that this quick teaser will do for now.
