Pokemon: Radical Redux

The three people were just there, looking at each other. This was actually Ash's first time seeing that Iris was here instead of Unova. Guess it's closer to her manga counterpart too.

In the anime, Iris wanted to come to Johto to train under Clair in the Dragon Clan. But in the manga, it's completely different, she was born here in Johto, already part of the Dragon Clan and a super prodigy. So much so that they couldn't train her to her full potential here.

So they called Drayden to take her away from Johto and train her there. Yeah, seems like this version is following that one. But right now, that wasn't important.

Ash raised his hand. "Uh… hi there."

Iris immediately pointed at Ash. "Hey, wait a minute, who are you and what are you doing here?"

Ash blinked and looked at his sandwich. "Eating. And looking at the view. What else? Also, my name's Ash."

"Ok… that one's on me. I set the bar too low," Iris said.

Pikachu raised an eyebrow. Vee tilted his head, mimicking Iris's energy but not quite understanding it.

Ash squinted at Iris. "Riiight. Well, nice to meet you too, I guess."

Iris didn't know about Ash, obviously, why would she? But Clair did. Just because he was the Champion of the Indigo League and Lance had shown up to give him his trophy… along with his final rebellious message before literally teleporting away.

"Huh… you're Ash. I saw you on TV when Lance called you the winner of the last Indigo League," Clair said, narrowing her eyes. "Look, if you're here to challenge me, I'm not in the mood right now."

Ash blinked. "What? No! I didn't even know you'd be up here." He gestured to the quiet mountaintop. "I was literally just watching the sunset."

Clair frowned slightly, as if trying to decide whether she believed that. But honestly, she was too tired to care. She was more debating whether she should stay here, have Ash leave, or leave herself.

Clair exhaled, her arms still crossed, but the edge in her posture softened, just slightly.

"Fine. Stay. Whatever," she muttered, turning her gaze to the horizon. "Just don't talk too much."

Ash blinked, then slowly shrugged. "Uh… okay."

Pikachu gave a cautious glance to Vee, who chirped once and plopped down beside Ash again, leaning into his side. Pikachu mirrored the gesture, tail flicking behind him.

Iris, still not quite sure what to make of this new guy, slowly sat down a short distance from Clair. "So… you really didn't come here looking for her?"

"Nope," Ash replied, taking another bite of his sandwich. "I mean, I do plan on challenging Clair eventually. But like, not today. She just got stomped by a Legendary. I'm not heartless."

Clair's eye twitched. "Thanks for the reminder."

"Okay, sorry, but what would you prefer? I pour salt on the wound by pretending it didn't happen?" Ash asked.

"…Fair…" Clair mumbled as she went over and sat down, not wanting to say much.

Ash finished chewing, then leaned back on one arm, glancing toward Clair. "For what it's worth… Suicune was taking that battle seriously. You got its attention. That's more than most people ever get."

Clair didn't answer at first. Her jaw was tight. But she didn't snap either. Just sat there, arms loosely crossed, eyes locked on the horizon like it owed her answers.

"I don't need a pep talk," she finally muttered.

"Cool. Wasn't giving one," Ash replied, casually tossing a bit of crust to Vee, who jumped up and caught it, nibbling it with a happy chirp.

Iris looked between them, frowning. "…Are you always this weirdly honest?"

"Again, would lying about it change the fact that it happened?" Ash asked. "Yeah, it sucks, but it still happened. No sulking, pep talk, or delusion is gonna change that. In this situation, what else are you gonna do other than move on with your life?"

Clair didn't say anything, but her fingers curled slightly where her hands rested on her arms. She wasn't glaring anymore, at least.

"…You sound like Lance," she said after a moment. "He always said things like that. Move on. Keep moving. Don't let the past drag you down."

"Is that a bad thing?" Ash asked.

There was a pause. Ash glanced her way, not really expecting a response. But after a moment, she muttered, "Lance has always treated me like a child… so to be honest, I can't say I'm his biggest fan."

Ash blinked, surprised she was talking at all. "Really? You two don't get along?"

Clair shook her head slightly, her gaze fixed on the horizon. "My Kingdra and his Dragonite have a bit of a history together as well," she said, her voice quieter now. "Back when Kingdra was still a little Horsea, she fought Dragonite with everything she had."

She smirked slightly, bitter and proud all at once. "Just hearing Dragonite's name is enough to get her all worked up."

Ash chuckled a bit, but didn't interrupt.

Clair's voice dipped a little lower. "Anyway… our confidence took a huge hit after that match with Lance. I was still a child back then. We didn't stand a chance against him."

Her expression fell again. "I have dreams about that day every once in a while. Even now, he beat us and it wasn't even fair. In fact, I've never beaten Lance in a battle. Not even once…"

Iris looked over, expression softening. She had clearly never heard this part of the story before. She wanted to say something, but the words died in her mouth.

Clair leaned back on her hands, closing her eyes for a second as she tried to cheer herself up a little. "Heh… Lance didn't get the last laugh in the end, though. We stood our ground and managed to get one good hit in before he beat us. The look of surprise on Lance's face was priceless."

She opened her eyes again, a faint flicker of amusement returning. "We gave him a good scare that day, didn't we, Kingdra? A real Water Gun to the eye," she said, like Kingdra was there with her and not resting after one of the worst beatings it had ever taken.

Ash smirked. "Water Gun, huh? I see what you did there."

Clair raised an eyebrow. "What? I assure you, you did not just laugh at that. Silly jokes are beneath me…"

"I dunno," Ash said with a shrug. "Sometimes dumb jokes are the best kind. Especially after a rough day."

Clair gave him a dry look, but didn't argue. Her shoulders eased just slightly as she looked back at the sky.

"Anyway," she said, her voice a little steadier, "Horsea continued to give her all for me. Eventually evolved into the magnificent Kingdra you saw earlier."

"You sound proud," Ash said.

And Iris was just watching, looking back and forth again and again like she was watching a ping-pong match, making her head spin a little.

"I am. Maybe Lance and other people are better than me with most other Dragon Pokémon, but I know I'm better with my Kingdra! Even Lance hasn't been able to fully utilize the power of his Kingdra."

Ash blinked. "Wait, Lance has a Kingdra?"

"He does," Clair confirmed, eyes narrowing faintly. "But I, and I alone, have accomplished what he hasn't. I should be known as the world's best Dragon Master."

She said it with conviction, but something cracked underneath. Her hands clenched slightly on her knees. Her posture stayed strong, but her voice wavered, just enough to notice.

"…But no one sees me that way," she said suddenly, almost like it slipped out. "Not really."

Ash blinked, glancing over. "What do you mean?"

Clair exhaled through her nose, the words tumbling out faster now. "They see him. Lance. Champion of Kanto and Johto, Dragon Master, cape-dramatic and untouchable. And then there's me. The Gym Leader who couldn't be chosen. Not for the League. Not as Champion. Not as Lance. Not as anyone that matters."

Her eyes narrowed bitterly.

"I've spent my entire life trying to prove I'm not a lesser version of him, and yet… everyone still calls me that. 'Lance's cousin.' 'Lance's shadow.' Even the elders whisper it. Like I'm just some knockoff, filling space until he decides to return."

Ash didn't say anything at first. Clair sat upright again, her jaw clenched tight.

"Even the way I battle," she muttered. "I caught myself copying his stance… the way he commands Dragonite. The way he looks calm even when he's losing. It's like I built myself in his image without realizing it. Like I thought if I acted like him long enough, I'd become someone people respected just as much."

She turned her head, not looking at either of them now. "But I'm not Lance. I never have been. And I never will be. I'm just… me."

"…Then stop," Ash said, almost bluntly.

His words were so direct, it made both girls look at him.

Clair furrowed her brows. "What?"

"Stop trying to be Lance," Ash said again. "If being like him isn't working, then don't. You're not him, and that's not a bad thing."

"I…" Clair blinked. No one had ever bluntly put it like that before. Everyone always danced around her feelings like she'd break down if they told her the truth.

"I'm serious," Ash continued. "You said it yourself, your bond with Kingdra is yours. Not his. You trained Kingdra up from a little Horsea, right? It's your strength. So why do you seem scared to admit it?"

Iris finally broke the silence. "You know… I always thought you were so cool because you were nothing like him."

Clair turned, blinking in surprise.

Iris smiled faintly. "Lance is… whatever. The cape, the stoic 'I'm-perfect' stuff, it works for him. But you? You never needed that. You were fierce, loud, and scary, but you always listened. You always looked people in the eye. You made me feel like I wasn't a lost cause when no one else did. I respect Lance… but you're the one I look up to."

Clair's throat tightened. She didn't trust her voice enough to speak, so she looked away instead.

"I… It's easy to say that… You don't know what it's like…" Clair mumbled, but the words felt weak, even to herself.

"Actually, I do," Ash said, shaking his head, getting the attention of the girls again. "Growing up, I lived next to monsters, complete prodigies, like my two friends, Green and Gary. When I said I wanted to be a trainer, people told me to give up because I wasn't as naturally talented as they were."

Ash sighed. "The older I got, the worse it got. I had to study and practice twice as hard just to keep up. I didn't have a cheat code at the beginning, I just worked hard, even as people told me it was a waste of time. But look at me now. I'm the one who beat them. And I did it my way, not by copying them, but because I didn't."

Clair didn't say anything. Her eyes dropped, not in shame, but in thought.

"I get what it's like to be surrounded by people everyone thinks are better than you," Ash continued. "To feel like you're running a race with your legs tied together while they're flying ahead of you. It feels like you'll never catch up."

"But eventually," he added, his gaze fixed on Clair now, "I stopped trying to catch up to them… and just started running my own race."

Iris let out a slow breath, something about that hitting her too, about the way she acted. She thought she was the one ahead of everyone else for so long… but now, she had to think about it. Her eyes drifted to Clair.

Clair was quiet again. Her arms were still crossed, but the pressure in them was fading.

"…I trained Kingdra by myself," she finally said, softer than before. "I caught her when she was still a baby Horsea. No one told me how to raise her. I didn't even know if she'd evolve the way I hoped."

"You made it work," Ash said.

"She listened to me, not because I was Lance's cousin. Not because I had a title. But because I was her trainer."

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "As long as you live every day and keep moving forward, you'll see, you bring something to this world that no one else does. You don't have to be anyone's shadow. You just have to be yourself. And that's good enough."

Clair stared at him. For a moment, she said nothing. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came. The tension that had been clinging to her like a second skin slowly began to loosen.

Then, without warning…

She laughed.

It was quiet at first, almost like she wasn't sure how to do it. But then it came again, louder this time. Real and warm and cracked at the edges, like a weight had finally lifted off her chest. She tilted her head back, letting out a full, genuine laugh that echoed off the mountain peak.

Iris' eyes widened. "Whoa… did I just witness a miracle?"

Ash grinned, a bit smug but mostly glad. "Told you dumb jokes help."

Clair brought a hand up to her face, brushing a tear from the corner of her eye with the edge of her glove. "Ugh… gods, it's been weeks since I let myself laugh. I think my lungs forgot how to handle it."

Pikachu and Vee both perked up, ears twitching. Vee wagged his tail and chirped again, clearly pleased with the shift in mood.

Clair looked at Ash again, really looked at him this time. Like she was finally seeing him not as a surprise challenger or a reminder of her failure, but just… as someone else.

"…Thanks," she said quietly, voice steadier now. "That was… surprisingly not awful."

Iris shook her head, grinning a little. "Okay, yeah. I take it back. You are weird. But not the bad kind."

Ash gave a smirk, he couldn't pass this up. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from a kid~"

Iris jumped. "Wha, Hey! Who are you calling a kid?!"

"You, who else? Is there another kid on this mountain?" Ash said, looking around like he was actually going to find someone.

Iris stood up, fists clenched, steam practically pouring from her ears. "You take that back!"

Ash stayed right where he was, completely unfazed, a lopsided smirk tugging at his lips. "I mean, if the shoe fits…"

Clair, still wiping the last of the laughter from her eyes, chuckled. "You are a kid though, Iris."

Iris's jaw dropped. "Wh—Clair! Traitor!"

Ash snorted, trying, and failing, not to laugh. Pikachu covered his mouth with both paws, but his giggles squeaked through anyway. Vee, not understanding the context, mimicked Iris's arm-flailing pose, clearly enjoying the chaos.

Clair gave a rare, almost mischievous grin. "What? He's right."

"You're both teaming up on me!" Iris cried out as she sighed heavily and sat down between them. "I give up…"

Ash and Clair chuckled a little as Clair smiled a little easier. "Thanks."

Iris looked over. "So… are you okay now?"

Clair exhaled, slow and long, before nodding once. "I think I will be."

"No problem. And hey, still not a pep talk, just saying it as I see it," Ash said as he stood up, stretching and dusting himself off. "Anyway, I guess I should leave you to your spot. I gotta go find my friends before they actually try to murder me."

"Oh? Are they the kind to worry about you?"

"More like they know something weird always happens whenever I'm on a solo adventure. Like, here I am talking to you two when we still barely know each other," Ash shrugged. "And sometimes it's worse."

Clair snorted. "Okay, I guess you need to get back then. Shame, and here I was starting to get used to you."

"Aww, is that a compliment? You gonna miss me?" Ash teased.

Clair rolled her eyes and smiled. "Don't try to be cute. More like an, 'I tolerate your existence.'"

"You know, you joke about that, but I've been called worse," Ash chuckled as he gave a two-finger salute and turned toward the trail. "Noted. See you two around, I guess."

"Wait," Clair called before he took another step. He paused and glanced back.

She stood up, brushing off her coat. "You said you'd challenge me eventually, right?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah."

Clair smiled. "Then as Gym Leader, I accept your challenge. How about tomorrow?"

Ash grinned at that. "If you're up for it, I won't say no."

Clair nodded, arms folding again, but this time, it wasn't a defensive posture. "Good. I want to see if all that talk you just gave lives up in battle."

"Oh, it will," Ash said without missing a beat, picking up Pikachu and Vee. "And let's make it interesting, if you know what I mean."

Clair raised an eyebrow and scoffed, smirking. "Wow, you're either extremely confident or extremely cocky. Don't get cocky just because I laughed at your dumb jokes."

"Why not both? I've been called both quite a few times. But that doesn't mean I plan on losing either. So, you wanna shut those idiots up? Give them a reason to~" Ash said as he smirked.

Iris stood between them, looking lost. "Okay, am I the only one who doesn't know what you guys are talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, kid," Ash and Clair said at the same time.

"I'm not a kid!" Iris protested again. As she tried to argue, Ash was already walking away, waving.

Iris pouted and crossed her arms. "I take it back, he is annoying."

"Why? Don't tell me you're upset. Sounds like a kid thing to do~" Clair said teasingly.

"Wha—No, not you too! Why?!" Iris cried out as she deflated.

Clair chuckled and felt… normal for once. She sighed and looked up at the sky for a bit, not really saying anything, but she felt relieved, and almost happy she'd lost against Suicune.

—

{The next morning}

Ash had met up with the gang last night at their hotel before heading to sleep. Now, with nothing particular in mind, the group had checked out and wandered the streets without any real direction, mostly because they had no idea Ash had technically scheduled his Gym battle already.

Ash walked just ahead of the group, hands in his pockets, Vee perched on one shoulder, Pikachu on the other. His pace was casual, almost too casual.

Misty squinted suspiciously. "Okay… what's with you?"

Ash blinked innocently. "What do you mean?"

"You've got that look again," she said, crossing her arms. "The one you get right before something insane happens."

"Yeah," Brock chimed in, raising a brow. "We've seen that face enough to know better. Where exactly are we going?"

Ash glanced over his shoulder with a grin. "Just… thought we'd go for a walk. Get some fresh air. Stretch our legs."

"That's not a destination. And you know whenever you say 'we're going for a walk,' it scares me," Yellow muttered from the back, her voice a mix of suspicion and mild dread.

"You'll see. Besides, I'm not going on a walk alone. We're all going for a walk. Big difference," Ash said.

Vee chirped, tail wagging. Pikachu mirrored the energy with a knowing smirk.

They passed the local Poké Mart, then the central plaza, then the Dragon Shrine entrance, when Misty suddenly stopped walking.

"Wait a minute…" she said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Are we heading toward the Gym?"

Ash hummed innocently. "Maaaybe."

Brock blinked. "Wait, are you saying, did you schedule a battle already?"

Ash turned around and started walking backward down the steps toward the Blackthorn Gym, giving a casual shrug. "Kinda."

Yellow's jaw dropped. "You what?! When did you even—"

"Last night," Ash grinned, hopping the last step. "Clair and I ran into each other. We talked. She challenged me. Or… I challenged her. It's mutual."

Misty groaned. "Ash, do you ever not stumble into a life-changing adventure during a walk?"

"Nope!" he called cheerfully as the large Gym doors came into view. "Not my fault you guys left me alone, this one's on you~"

"I thought you said we shouldn't comfort Clair?" Brock asked.

Ash shrugged playfully, "I've been known to be a hypocrite. Besides, it's not like I went after her, we just ran into each other."

The three sighed as they followed Ash into the building. This was it.

As Ash walked in, he saw the stadium, and at the far end stood Clair, smirking with her arms crossed.

"Well, looks like you made it," she said. "So how about it, are you ready to lose?"