Author's Notes
This is Iris/Bianca... Even if it isn't immediately 'shippy'. Though it's an anime canon crossover, gen 5 characters (Iris, Bianca, etc.) are based on how I interpret their game counterparts rather than their anime counterparts. This story focuses more on the game characters, while the companion fanfic, "The New Hero of Ideals" will focus more on the anime characters. Readers of either are free to ignore the other, though.

1

Goals

"Mom, I'm home," Bianca called as she came in the door.

As Bianca took off her shoes by the door, her mother turned around from her seat and greeted her. "Oh, hello, Bianca. Something came for you in the mail."

Bianca saw the package on the counter and grinned. "Oh, yes! Thanks Mom, thank you!" she said. Before waiting for her mother to respond, she rushed upstairs to open it. Tearing open the box, she found the set of three unopened pokemon figures that she'd been waiting for. The pokemon fan club she was a part of sent a set of random figures each month. Which ones would she get this time? Bianca began to open them up and see.

First was pansage, the first of the trio of monkey pokemon that she'd gotten a figure of. Bianca poked it and smiled, this bright green pokemon was an interesting one. The region's newest gym leaders she'd heard about had all three between them. Pansage was her favorite, Bianca was sure. But she hadn't really gotten a good look at all three. Better to wait until she saw them all, or at least all of their figures before she decided.

Opening, the next box, Bianca saw it was the last of the three pokemon that Professor Juniper gave out to new trainers for her collection. Talking a good look at it, she laughed as she saw that tepig had flames coming from its nose. She took out the other two figures, and looked at all three of them side-by-side.

Looking at them, Bianca imagined she was a new trainer, going to Professor Juniper to ask for a new pokemon. Professor Juniper offered her all three, and which would she choose? Tepig looked cute and powerful, showing off its fire breathing abilities. But Oshawott's pout made her want to hug it and take it away. Then again, Snivy was just cool. Bianca daydreamed about battling with each of them for a few moments.

She stopped herself soon enough, feeling embarrassed, and began to put the three figures away. She'd spent much time as a child imagining being a trainer, which pokemon she might like to train from various regions, and then what her journey would be like. But now she was getting older, becoming a young woman. Such fantasies really didn't fit that role, did they?

Bianca looked back at the figures. "No way," she said, smiling to them. Even if it wasn't right to daydream so much, just a little bit wouldn't hurt. She looked at the new tepig figure once more, thinking of having that pokemon showing off its cute moves while they won their first battle. Then she turned to the last box.

What kind of pokemon would it be, Bianca wondered. She opened the box. Tugging at the plastic bubble protection, Bianca saw something sharp coming out. "Oh?" she said. What was revealed of the figure was a curved, weapon-looking thing. Bianca pulled down the rest of the plastic. "Oh." Bianca looked at the figure questioningly.

She wasn't really sure what this pokemon was supposed to be. It had the large horn on its head, and then two really big fangs sticking out from its mouth. Bianca looked at it a moment in thought. She had seen one before, not in person, but maybe on TV or in a book. She couldn't remember its name.

After rummaging around her room, Bianca pulled out the guide that had come with her original set of figures. So, this was an axew, she realized. The figure itself was apparently 'rare', not everyone would get one. Even knowing that, Bianca wasn't thrilled that this was her third pick this month. She might have preferred a zorua or something, another rare that she hadn't gotten.

Instead she'd gotten this. There was something about this pokemon that was just weird. Bianca stared at it a moment. It might be trying to be cute, she considered, but it wasn't really. Maybe it was the sharpness of it, though the horn and fangs both seemed pretty dull. Oh well, she though, it was rare, so maybe she could trade it.

But she didn't want to be made fun of for trading with the younger kids. She did have two friends her age that also loved pokemon, though. But Hilda had showed no interest in joining this pokemon fan club, and Cheren had outright said that those kind of 'clubs' didn't really teach anything about pokemon.

So Bianca would continue to enjoy this hobby on her own. She looked for a good place for the axew figure. Maybe the back of the display would do. Bianca arranged the figures quickly. The three starter pokemon were in front, Pansear now waved at her from the side. Axew peaked over Vanillite. It didn't look that good, but maybe she could fix it later. Bianca closed the cabinet door and went to start her homework.

"Don't worry, Axew," Iris assured her pokemon. "This is kind of like being in the gym. We don't have to seek pokemon out to battle, they'll come to us! We're just awesome battlers, so it's natural that trainers and pokemon will want a challenge."

"Axew," Axew said, nodding diligently. Standing with Iris on the path, it looked out into the long grass for a pokemon that might want to battle it. A wild patrat soon appeared.

"There we go!" Iris said.

"Ax, axew!" Axew found itself demanding a battle despite Iris's orders to wait for the other pokemon to challenge it.

The patrat picked up a single blade of grass, then looked away haughtily, turning its back to the both of them, apparently leaving.

"Ax-" Axew began.

"Hey! Just wait right there!" Iris stamped her foot. "Come on back! We really are good challengers, you know!" Iris insisted. The patrat was still scurrying away.

"Axew!" Axew ran toward the pokemon, ready to strike it.

"Stop." Iris was firm as she spoke. Axew stopped immediately, and looked behind itself warily. It was still a novice at battling, but had learned to listen to its trainer. "Don't think I don't know how you feel," Iris said. "But we really can't be bullies. You understand?"

Axew nodded. Iris was satisfied with just that, and smiled at her pokemon again. "Now, let's get going! You aren't getting a light training today!" she declared.

"Axew!" Axew shouted, eager to continue.

Iris and Axew meandered about in place. Iris eventually decided this wasn't working, and decided to walk around more. Looking up, she saw someone coming from the distance. "Alright!" Iris said. "Maybe it's a trainer!" Iris knew this young axew might not be up for a trainer battle, but was getting antsy from waiting around for a wild pokemon to get there. Trainers hanging around this area would likely be low level, Iris assumed.

She had assumed a little too much. As they got closer, Iris noted the girl approaching them had several bags, and no pokeballs from what she could tell. It seemed to be a girl a little older than her coming back from some shopping. Oh well. Iris had been about to turn away completely, when she saw the girl trip.

"Oh no," Bianca said as one of her bags tipped over and all the produce she'd bought for her mom spilled out. She walked around trying to collect it all. After she'd almost picked it all up, she saw the watermelon had rolled all the way over inside the grass. Bianca frowned. The pokemon there were pretty well-natured, but tended to get annoyed if you were into their grassy territory.

Well, it was just right there, nearby the edge, Bianca told herself. She put down her bags carefully, then quietly walked toward the edge of the grass. She took one step inside, then picked up the watermelon up. There was a little resistance. Bianca fell over, and then picked herself up, looking to the side. A patrat was holding her watermelon up. "Hey!" Bianca said. It did look cute there, holding up the fruit. But she still needed it. "That's mine!"

The patrat squeaked, and paid her no mind, running away with Bianca's fruit. "Hey!" Bianca shouted again. She ran toward it, trudging further into the grass, then got her feet tangled in the grass and tripped yet again. Oh no, Bianca thought to herself, feeling like crying. But luckily, there was the same patrat, still holding the watermelon. Bianca stood up and grabbed it away. "It's not nice to steal," she said.

The patrat now narrowed its eyes, and lowered its head. It got ready to tackle Bianca.

"Axew, scratch attack!"

Bianca looked to the side. An axew came charging in between her and the patrat. It scratched the wild pokemon. The patrat looked surprised, and scurried away.

"Axew!" Axew said threateningly.

"Enough!" Iris said firmly, seeing her pokemon was getting ready to give chase. As her pokemon obeyed, her expression lightened, and she nodded. "Good job Axew. Defending this pretty lady, you're even better than usual."

"Axew!" Axew said with a nod.

"Um..." Bianca began. "Um, thanks," she said.

"You're welcome! But you know, you really shouldn't go into tall grass like this without a pokemon out ready to help you," Iris said.

"I know," Bianca said. "I just wanted to get back my watermelon."

"Oh, I saw that," Iris said. "No big deal this time. It looks like you don't have any pokemon yourself. But don't worry, I'll protect you on your way out."

"Thanks! I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Bianca, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Bianca. I'm Iris. I live in Opelucid City, but I came here for some training."

"Nice to meet you," Bianca said, shaking her hand. "Oh!" she realized after she did. "You're that... Um... You're new to Unova, right?"

Iris grinned. "You've got it. I'm that Iris."

"Oh, I know! I've seen you on TV. You looked really good. So, you're that gym leader's, no that mayor's, ah..."

"Yes, I'm Drayden's protégé. And the new Opelucid gym leader."

"Wow," Bianca said. Iris seemed like she was younger than her, and already considered so talented and had gotten so far with her training. "That's really cool!"

Iris grinned. She knew she shouldn't let success go to her head. Still, it was nice to have this attractive older girl admiring her. "Thanks. It's fun, but it's no big," Iris said to preserve her modesty. "Well, let's go!"

Bianca walked forward, behind Iris and her pokemon. She looked at how Iris walked, standing up straight and full of confidence. It was the perfect image of the 'cool' pokemon trainer in attitude. Though, Bianca considered, it wasn't matched in style. Unfitting of the cool trainer image, Iris was a young girl who was dressed casually. And her pokemon was... Well, not the one Bianca herself would have picked.

"Iris, do you have any other pokemon?" Bianca asked as they walked ahead.

"Not with me," Iris said. "But of course! I've trained a lot of pokemon. Since I've come to Unova, my Grandpa - I mean Drayden's kept me really busy with that."

"Oh," Bianca said. Then why did she just have this axew, Bianca wondered. It didn't seem powerful, nor did it fit any kind of cute image. "Why did you only bring this one, then?"

"Oh, Axew was getting frustrated. It needed to battle pokemon more on its level. I'd been here before, and it seemed just right for now."

Bianca nodded. She hadn't thought of it before, but she supposed pokemon had a variety of levels of skill. Trainers like Iris would have to put a lot of thought into what they did to train them.

As they reached the edge of the grass, Bianca shouted at the sight. There was a group of patrat, going inside her bags and taking out all of her produce. "No, no, no!" Bianca said. She ran up to her bags and the pokemon all scurried away. "What am I going to tell my mom?" she said to herself. They hadn't gotten much, she started to realize, maybe it wouldn't be that big of a deal.

Iris grinned, and her eyes narrowed. She could see quickly that only two of the patrat had carried anything anyway. "Hm. This should be fun," she said. "Are you ready, Axew?"

"Axew!" Axew nodded.

"That way!" Iris said, pointing toward the patrat that had just darted into the grass. She followed Axew as it ran, and then stood under the tree where she knew the other patrat was. Iris watched as Axew jumped in front of the patrat it had been pursuing and shouted, "Scary face!" Axew instantly followed through with the attack, and the patrat was frozen in place. "Scratch attack!" Iris ordered.

Axew swiped once at the pokemon in front of it, then grabbed the apples as its opponent fell back. Axew let the patrat run away, then turned toward Iris again for further instruction. "Right there!" Iris shouted, pointing in the direction the other perpetrator was going the instant it jumped down from the tree. "Again, scary face then scratch attack!" she said.

Axew caught up with the other patrat easily enough. Repeating the moves, it got hold of Bianca's other apple. Iris nodded in approval. "Good job, Axew. I think you've mastered this area," she praised. They both walked out of the tall grass and back toward Bianca. "Hey, we've got your stuff back!" Iris called to her.

Bianca smiled. She'd seen the battle and found it amazing that Iris's reactions had been so quick, and again how this Axew was to follow them her commands as soon as she'd spoken. "That was great! Thanks!"

"It was good to get the practice," Iris said.

Axew walked over to Bianca and held up the apples it had retrieved. "Axew?" it said.

"Oh," Bianca said. Axew had tried so hard in getting these back, but they were beaten up and damaged from being retrieved. "Um, thanks. You can keep them."

"Axew!" Axew said happily.

Iris giggled. Drayden would probably say it would spoil Axew to treat it so much, but Iris decided she'd allow her pokemon to just enjoy the reward. "I think Axew means to say thank you," she said.

"You're welcome, Axew," Bianca said, observing the pokemon as it now chowed down on the apples. It was still weird looking. But at the same time, battling with Iris, it had looked cool. Still, Bianca wondered why Iris had chosen it. "Iris, why did you choose Axew as your pokemon?" she asked.

"It's the second axew I've trained! The first was just so awesome, you know? So when this axew hatched, I told Drayden that I'd definitely be the one to train it. I know we've still got a long way to go, though," Iris said.

"Really? But you seem like masters already," Bianca said honestly. She'd seen other pokemon battles, but never a trainer and pokemon in such instant sync before. Not to mention her Axew's moves seemed to end the battles instantly.

Iris laughed again. "No way! Axew has to get more powerful, learn more moves, and of course evolve to the highest level. And I've got a lot I have to do for it along the way, too."

Bianca nodded. "It seems like there's a lot to pokemon training," she said.

"Aren't you a trainer, too?" Iris asked.

"Oh, no, I'm not," Bianca said.

"Why not? You look old enough," Iris said. Then she stopped herself, giving that statement some thought. Though almost everyone from her home village has trained pokemon, there were a lot of people she'd met that weren't and had never been a trainer in Unova. "You don't want to?" Iris suggested.

"I do," Bianca said. She then felt embarrassed. Yes, she'd wanted to train pokemon since she was little. But this was the first time she'd really admitted it since then.

"Then you should!" Iris declared. "If you want to train, go train!"

Bianca nodded at the younger girl. She knew it really wasn't as simple as just wanting to, though.

"You're headed to, um, Nuvema Town, right? Professor Juniper lives there, doesn't she? I bet she'd be the one to ask for a pokemon," Iris said.

"Well, I wouldn't want to bother her," Bianca said.

"Come on!" Iris insisted. "You'll never be able to with that attitude! If she says no, you could just figure out someone else to ask for your first pokemon."

"I guess you're right," Bianca said calmly. She didn't have the gung-ho ambition of this girl, one who was younger than her and yet a gym leader already. But maybe she could learn something from her. Bianca supposed she'd never be able to be a trainer unless she took some initiative. If she did decide that she wanted to, Professor Juniper would definitely be the first person to go to. If the professor said yes, then she really could train one of those fun 'starting' pokemon, and more. Bianca daydreamed, then nearly tripped again as she walked forward. "Oops," Bianca said.

"You okay?" Iris asked.

Bianca saw Iris looked at her with a concerned expression. Bianca was used to similar reactions to her clumsiness. She just stood up, laughing and smiling toward the other girl. "Fine, thanks."

Iris grinned back. She was lucky to meet such a friendly, cute girl, and didn't want to say good-bye so soon. So she continued to talk to her. "Hey Miss, um, Bianca, right?" Bianca nodded. "Well, why don't we help you, Bianca?" Iris asked.

"Oh, don't think you have to," Bianca said.

"We want to. Right, Axew?" Iris said.

"Axew!" Axew agreed as it finished its last apple.

"You could even help us. Do you know any newbie trainers that hang out in Nuvema?" Iris asked.

"Um, I think I know someone who might be around," Bianca said.

"Great! So, it works out perfect, we'll help each other."

"Well, thanks then," Bianca said. Iris took one of Bianca's bags, and Axew held the watermelon in front of it. They walked forward. "I really do think you're pretty thoughtful, Iris. I'm lucky you were there to save me."

"Next time you need saving, just call," Iris said.

"Axew!" Axew agreed.

"And if you become a trainer, definitely come to our gym! I'd like more challengers like you," Iris said.

"Like me?" Bianca repeated.

"Um, yeah," Iris said. "I don't know... Well, you're nice, and seem like you'd be relaxed about the whole thing. You're not like the loud trainers that come wandering in. Some are powerful, some aren't, but so many have to put on some kind of tough guy or tough girl show. I can tell you wouldn't be that kind of trainer."

"Oh, thank you," Bianca said. That gave her something to think about. She had been sure that the "tough" image was almost a requirement to being a trainer. If it wasn't, and from the impression she'd gotten from Iris, it really wasn't, then yes, even Bianca herself could be a trainer. She daydreamed about it as they walked on.

The idea of what a trainer was supposed to be what kind of trainer she might be still conflicted. Well, she didn't have to be "tough", but she couldn't seem too weak, either, could she. Bianca imagined her most recent example, Iris. Iris had seemed "tough", hadn't she? Maybe that was why Axew had listened to her. But then again, it was more firm than "tough". That word could mean a lot of different things.

"Axew!" Axew shouted to get Bianca's attention.

"Ah," Bianca said, realizing the mistake she'd been about to make and caught her balance before she tripped on the slight incline that led to Nuvema Town. Bianca sighed in relief. She'd done that before, but would prefer not to around Iris. "Oh, thank you, Axew," Bianca said.

"Axew!" Axew nodded.

"So where are you taking this stuff?" Iris asked.

"Just to my house," Bianca said. "This way!" she said, leading Iris in the right direction. "I'm home!" she announced as she opened the door.

"Welcome back," Bianca's mother said. "Oh?" she said as she saw Iris. "Who's your friend, Bianca?"

"This is Iris, she just helped me when I ran into some wild pokemon," Bianca said.

"Oh, Bianca. You know you need to stick to the trail and stay out of the grass. Even if you want to play with the wild pokemon, they might not want to be bothered," Bianca's mother scolded.

"Mom! That's not what happened!" Bianca insisted, blushing with embarrassment. She'd been in kindergarten the last time she'd done something like run into the woods after wild pokemon.

"Of course," Bianca's mom assured, then turned to Iris. "Thanks for helping my Bianca. I know a new trainer like yourself must be very busy."

"Oh, yeah," Iris said. It was much easier to be modest with someone who didn't recognize her. "It was no problem. But Bianca, you were going to help me, right? Can you right now?"

"Oh, well, sure!" Bianca said, looking to her mom. "I'll be back in just a little while, okay Mom?"

Her mother nodded, and Bianca dashed outside with Iris and Axew. They began to walk around the town. "I think he might still be around... I don't know if he left to go and challenge any gyms yet," Bianca explained about the new trainer that she knew.

"We can check quickly, right?" Iris said. This was a small town after all.

"Yeah," Bianca nodded. She took the time to knock on the door.

The young male trainer answered the door. "Yeah?" he said. "What is it, Bianca?" he said, stepping outside and folding his arms.

Iris pointed to his belt. "Ah! So you are a trainer! I'm challenging you to a battle, then!"

The trainer looked at Iris dubiously, then narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you're Iris, right?"

"You've got it," Iris said.

"Will I get the legend badge if I beat you?"

"No, why would you?" Iris said, scowling.

"You're a gym leader now, right?" the trainer asked.

"Yeah, that doesn't mean every battle I do is for a badge, though!" Iris said.

"I thought you couldn't refuse challenges as a gym leader."

"Hey, I'm the one that challenged you," Iris pointed out.

"Well, I want to challenge you, too."

Iris frowned. "We're not even in the gym, so no badge. Quit being so pushy, this is just practice for the both of us."

The trainer finally just nodded. "I'll win anyway," he said.

"Alright! One against one, let's go!" Iris said.

The trainer nodded, and walked away from his house. Grabbing a pokeball, he pulled his cap back, and then looked forward poignantly. "I'm ready!" he said.

"Axew will battle this time," Iris said.

"Axew!" Axew said as it jumped forward in front of Iris and Bianca.

"Fine, and I choose Pidove!" the trainer said, and threw his pokeball forward. He smirked and folded his arms again. "I bet you weren't expecting that."

Bianca watched carefully, observing the boy. Yes, this was her vision of a trainer. Cool and confident, her acquaintance intently concentrated on the scene ahead, not letting any weakness show. His pidove seemed to mirror that attitude, and furrowed its brow as it circled above Axew.

Iris was unfazed, and just calmly looked forward, still keeping the pleasant expression she'd worn before. She could see the other trainer's idea, that Axew couldn't get his pokemon if it were in the air. "Axew, hone claws," she said.

Axew had practiced this before, and now dutifully performed the move. The other trainer's face turned to confusion. "Pidove, quick attack!" he ordered.

Pidove performed the fast move. Axew barely budged as it moved back. "Now Axew, scratch attack!" Iris said as soon as the flying pokemon was near.

Axew moved forward before the pidove could retreat to the skies, and hit it dead on. It fell to the ground, obviously knocked out. Iris's opponent looked on in disbelief.

"Alright!" Iris said. It seemed the other trainer had been a little too low level, she thought to herself, but still smiled and thanked him. "Thanks for the battle."

"Yeah," he said, returning his pidove to the pokeball.

"You know, there's a lot of gyms between here and Opelucid. If you practice there and get really good, it might be exciting to battle you again," Iris said.

"Yeah, thanks," the boy said. He forced a smile before running off.

Bianca walked toward Iris now that the battle was done. "That was really good, Iris," she complimented. "I might know some other trainers too, if you want. I mean if Axew's not too tired."

"That would be lots of help, thanks!" Iris said. "I think Axew's ready to take on all kinds of trainers. What do you think, Axew?"

"Axew!" Axew agreed.

Bianca led Iris around town and introduced her to various trainers, the other new trainer that Bianca knew, and also older trainers who had stopped seriously battling but still had their pokemon. Every time her challenge was accepted, Iris easily won.

"Okay, I think Axew really could use a little rest now," Iris said. "We've been battling all day. But thanks for your help, though."

"Oh, I'm glad to help, it's been fun to watch you," Bianca said. "Good luck with everything, Iris. I'd better go home now."

"Oh, wait," Iris said.

"Yes?" Bianca said, giving Iris her full attention.

"Oh, um..." Iris began. There were plenty of people she met where it just ended there, but she didn't want this girl to be one of them. "I want to hear about what you do later with your training, Bianca. I can even give advice and stuff! So let's exchange numbers, okay?"

"Oh, sure," Bianca said. She was surprised yet pleased that someone like Iris would be interested enough to ask her this. "I'll look forward to talking to you then," she said.

Iris waved good-bye as Bianca wandered off. Iris clutched her phone close. "Alright!" she said.

"Axew?" Axew said.

"This is great, Axew," Iris said. She wasn't sure why she was so excited about this. Bianca had been very friendly to her, but she was just another girl, right? Well, Iris had met a lot of people in Unova, plenty of nice ones, too. But she still didn't have any friends, other than her pokemon at least. Bianca seemed like someone who might fill that role. Or at least, someone who Iris really wanted to fill that role.

"Come on, Axew!" Iris said, running off, fueled by her excitement.

"Axew," Axew said, running after her.

"Yeah, I know you're tired. We'll stick to the path with no battling. You can rest when we get to the pokemon center, okay?"

"Axew," Axew nodded.

Iris wondered if she might give Bianca a quick call when she got there. Well, that might be too soon. A quick message would be alright, though. Iris put her emotion into her activity, and kept running toward the town with Axew beside her.

That night, Bianca sat in her room, combing her hair after getting out of the shower. She looked toward her cabinet of pokemon goods. Seeing the shelf with the figures got her even more excited than before. She was starting to imagine that she really could really be a trainer, and work with the real life versions of these representations. Observing these figures, Bianca saw her dreams of various possibilities.

In the back corner, Bianca saw the figure she'd carelessly tucked away. She opened the cabinet and took it out, observing it carefully. No, this collection hadn't really done Axew any favors, the real life version looked somewhat less weird. But at the same time, Bianca still didn't really think that Axew was the best looking pokemon, considering both matters of toughness and cuteness. Regarding both, it wasn't lacking, just dull.

But it didn't really matter, Bianca realized. The trainer as well as the pokemon could look like anything and still be acceptable. Her neighbor the 'tough' trainer and young Iris who sported a casual attitude and dress were just two of the variety of people that formed bonds with pokemon. Even she could be a trainer, Bianca told herself, with the pokemon versions of any of the representations that were there. If she took some initiative, talked to her parents and Professor Juniper, maybe that path would lead to something great.

Bianca now placed the Axew figure at the front of her collection. Spinning it around to the perfect angle, she saw even this figure could have its own unique sort of cuteness. Thinking about it, Bianca had decided that Iris's axew was both tough and cute, a perfect match with its trainer. The two of them were the perfect match, and Bianca knew it wasn't just luck but effort that led to that reality. If she became a trainer herself, Bianca hoped to be able to form those kinds of bonds.