Arc 2: The Journey

Chapter 1: Like a Pokémon Needs a Bicycle

"I believe I can fly!"

"Urgh…"

"I believe I can touch the sky!"

"Stop singing!"

"I think about it every niight and daaaaay!"

"Shut up!"

"Spread my wings and fly awaa-aay!"

"Dear Pokémon lords…just shut up! You have awful posture, your breathing…I don't want to even start there, it's obvious you've never had lessons, plus your pitch is off the scales, so stoptorturing my ears!"

"Wow…someone's a critic."

"Fuck off…"

"Yep. There's the Audino we all know and love."

We were currently coasting down the "Cycling Road" as the humans called it. It probably would've been nice on any other day.

Instead, String had the fantastic idea of taking a bicycle out for a joyride. Which might've been one of his more creative and fun ideas, if it weren't for the fact that I had absolutely no fricking clue how to drive one!

It'd been a scene filled with the melodies of "oh shiiiit!" and "aaaauuuuugh!" and "we're gonna diiiiieee you idiot mooooth!"

That's why when I'd finally figured out that the two weird protruding sticks were used to steer the bike it was goodbye "death by a painful crash" and hello "opportunity to live!"

Yeah, haven't had too many of those moments, for good or for bad.

I was busy clinging for life to the handlebars (at least I think that's what they were called) while String was hitching a ride on the seat just behind me. I figured those things by my feet were useful somehow but so far they weren't working.

"Hey, there are Pokémon on that bike!"

"And one of them is singing—badly!"

"Crap, String, now look at what you did!" I griped. "Your terrible singing abilities have drawn a mob of critics to us!"

"It wasn't that bad!"

"If it were any worse I'd have gone deaf!"

"Whoa, did you see that pink thing?"

"Let's get 'em!"

Because of my excellent pair of ears, I was still able to hear those chumps even after we'd passed them and even with the roar of the wind.

"Great…" I sighed. "Looks like I'll have to take care of things…"

I turned my head around (String kept his bug-eyes on the road), ready to freeze those puny humans in their tracks. I attempted to gather the ice power before my paws like I'd done before. Eventually, I tried to unleash the energy, letting go of the handlebars for a second.

But nothing happened.

"That…was anticlimactic Audino…" the bug next to me sweatdropped.

"Shut up! That was to fake them out!" I snapped. "Lemme try again!"

"I think you should worry more about the fork in the road!"

"What? OhshitohlordieVictini! Crapsicle! Just wait while I turn this thing!" I shifted the bike to the right, screaming profanities all the while.

"Dude! What's your problem?" a biker I almost hit snapped out, and then I heard the telltale, "What the—" before we left him in our dust.

"Audino! Three bikers right behind us!"

"Well, since you're the only one that can do something about it without us crashing, why don't you do something?" I snapped. "I've gotta keep my paws on the bars, otherwise we'll—"

"Die?"

"Yeah, smartass!"

Then I heard the words I'd been dreading, "Go, Pikachu!"

"Staravia, it's time!"

"Ponyta, go!"

"Shit! String, you think you can handle them?"

"Um…they look kind of strong…"

"Then that's a no?"

"Well, I can try to slow them down…"

"Then do it!"

"Okay…"

Next thing I knew, I heard the hiss of his String Shot, and then the sound of something large crashing to the ground.

I wasn't able to look back though, a bit preoccupied with the building that was drawing ever closer to us.

"Okay, I'm going to try something different…" I muttered.

"…Are we going to get killed?"

"Just shut up! I need to concentrate!"

If I could time it right, then maybe I could use Psychic to get us out of this mess. At the very least, it might end up slowing the bike.

Urgh…work, work please. Just work! I had a heck of a time concentrating for this attack normally, but now, when I really needed it… Well, I would just hope it would work.

However, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reach that place. The place where my mind, completely calm and confident, could harness a mysterious power that left me with headaches.

"Audinoooo! It's not woooorkiiiing!" String cried from behind me.

"No shit, Sherlock," I grumbled to myself. "Well, do you have any bright ideas then?" We were getting closer and closer to the building, which fortunately had no doors, but the bike was losing control fast.

"Noooo!"

"Well then, shut up!"

"You're so mean…"

I gritted my teeth and chanced a look back. A fire horse-thing had fallen over, string tangling its hooves up. However, some yellow rat and the Staravia were still tailing us.

Humph. The race was on.

"Eat my dust, you puny pancakes!" I cackled before turning to String. Nodding at the Pokémon behind us, I turned back to the road in front.

"Okay, a little to the left, now a little to the right, oops, there's a rock, okay, keep going…"

I had learned once that balance had something to do with hearing. I had no idea how true that was, but so far I had managed to keep the bike in control, so maybe there was something to it.

"Geronimoooo!" I yelled as we zoomed through the gateway. By now both String and I had started to laugh from all the excitement.

"Are they still behind us?" I asked.

Still chuckling, the bug turned around, "Nope. They're just standing there. Looks like they've given up."

I glanced back, working hard to prevent a laughing fit. Heh. The bozos had their mouths wide open like they were trying to catch Beautifly with them.

Turning my attention back to steering the bike, I led it up two short flights of stairs. "Where are the brakes on this thing?"

"I don't think you should be worrying about that, Audino," String voiced worriedly.

"Why?" I asked, before my eyes widened, "Oh, shit! A cliff!"

"Time to fly," the moth agreed, before I felt a sudden pinching around my sides.

"Ow, what're you doing?" I snapped.

"Trying to lift you to safety…oh, wow, you're heavy! Eat a few apples too many?" String had barely managed to lift me a few inches from the bicycle.

"No, I got it from working out," I replied. "It's muscle." I sighed in relief when the bike zoomed out from underneath us. Meaning we weren't on it.

"It's fat; that's what it is. You're a fat Pokémon, Audino," the moth gasped out before dropping me past where the cliff ended.

"Oof! You're just making excuses for your weakness," I groaned, rubbing my sore tail. "So where the heck are we?" I glanced around.

"Looks like we're near some mountains," String said. Turning to see what he was looking at, I stared upward.

"Oh, um…wow," I breathed. I'd seen some smaller versions while I was in Eterna City, but it'd been a while since I'd seen some huge ones. The last time had…been in Unova.

The mountains soared up into the sky and extended outward in a straight line from both to our left and right. I couldn't see the end of the range either way. Above us, the rock narrowed into sloping humps. We lay in the westward side, which I could tell because the descending sun lit up the range beautifully. I could see small shadows where the brown stone wasn't as smooth.

"Wow."

"Agreed."

We stared at it, lost for words. I couldn't help the flood of nostalgia. Of a different time, in a different place, with different companions.

But I wouldn't trade this, what I have now, for anything.

The cry of a bird pierced the silence, and the spell was broken.

"You know…I stole a map back in Eterna City," String said, voice shaky. "While you were off staring at statues, I was busy doing useful things."

"Like stealing bikes?" I mocked, reluctantly dragging my eyes from the behemoths in front of us. "And that statue was fascinating! I've never seen a Pokémon like that!"

"Yeah, whatever," String's voice had steadied. "Sure, it may have been interesting, but it didn't help us! I'm the one with the map!"

"Aren't I usually the practical one? If I remember right, you'd always be the one staring off into space and mumbling things about wanting to be a hero," I crossed my arms.

"Th-that's not the same!" the bug stammered. "Besides, you did a good deal of staring off and muttering yourself!"

"Great, we're both nuts," I sighed. "Fine, let's look at the Victini-damned map."

"You say that a lot," the moth remarked, still not bringing out the map. "What's a Victini?"

"Ah…" I started, suddenly remembering the wacko dream I'd had. "It-it's basically the god of victory. The Pokémon's not very well-known, even within my home region, but it's still pretty damn powerful, known or not."

"I see…" the bug said. "Like the lake guardians then?"

"Probably," I replied, "Whoever they are."

"The lake guardians are the protectors and guardians of Sinnoh," the Pokémon spoke solemnly. "Not much is known about them, and most have forgotten their names, but they are who we Pokémon pray to when we need guidance in anything concerning knowledge, emotion, or willpower. Athena told me about them, and that there are other guardians of Sinnoh, but not much is known about them, and she wouldn't elaborate."

"I see…" I nodded. Athena again. What a mysterious Pokémon. Where did she learn all the crap that she knew anyway?

"So…" I said, "About that map…"

"Oh! Yeah!" String fluttered up, and then groaned. "I put it in the basket of the bicycle!"

"Really? Well, where is it now then?"

"Well…" the moth flew up, "Looks like it crashed at the base of the cliff. I'll get it."

"Okay," I agreed

It wasn't long before the bug was back. "Well, it's a bit worse for wear, but hopefully it'll still be readable…"

Glancing over the mud-streaked paper, I sighed and clapped a paw to my head. "Well, great. We have a mud, I mean dud map now."

"No, it's still somewhat legible," the bug muttered. "Let's see…we came from Eterna…and down that little road, and…oh! We're next to Mt. Coronet!"

"Mt. Coronet?"

"Yeah, it's part of a mountain range that supposedly goes the whole breadth of Sinnoh," the bug exclaimed. "Athena told me!"

I scowled at the mention of that stupid bird, "Well, what else do you know about it?"

"That's it… But it's enough, right?"

"I guess…"

"By the way…" String began in an odd tone. "Where exactly are we going? You never said…" His voice rose near the end. There's a lot you don't say went unsaid, but I heard it clear as day anyway.

"I…" my eyes flickered from side to side. "I don't exactly know…" I confessed. I turned away to look toward the mountain. "I just wanted…to get away."

"So you don't have any clue where you're going?"

"Not really," I shrugged and glanced upward. "But, you know, I've hardly been anywhere besides the forest here."

"Hmm…" String looked at me and turned away. "Well, let's go then!" he flew toward the nearby cave entrance.

Urgh…what is this feeling? My stomach hurts… I sighed. String was upset, that much I could sense, but I had no clue why. He's as hard to read as a girl…well, Sabine was harder, but String's a close second.

Shaking my head, I overtook the bug, and we entered the cavern.

Brr… I held my arms around my body. Why is it so damn cold in here?

We passed through quickly, my ears twitching at the sound of Pokémon. Fortunately, they hung back, letting us by. They must have realized that we'd be out of their fur soon.

When we reached the other side, I looked up at the violet sky. "It's getting late, String. What say we call it a day?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Crossing a couple wooden bridges, we finally reached an area that wasn't mountainous and covered with rocks. String and I both were on the lookout for hostile Pokémon. This area had a river. Water tended to attract strong Pokémon, meaning we had to be careful. Though I didn't figure we'd have too many problems. String was a second-evolution, and second-evolutions tended to be strong enough to cause any would-be attacker pause. Hopefully they wouldn't realize that he was a newly-evolved one.

Then again, bug Pokémon were renowned for their short lifespans and speedy changes into their second-evolution forms. Oh well. We would just have to be careful.

Settling underneath a lone tree in the middle of a grassy field, we spread out the map.

"It looks like…" String squinted. "Some place called Hearthome City is to the east…"

"Lemme see…" I nudged him over to look at it myself. "Hmm…you're right. Do you know anything about it?"

"Nothing," String shook his head.

I shook mine. Sometimes I forgot how young he was, with his resemblance to a walking-talking encyclopedia. Oh well. We'd find out tomorrow.

I settled down to sleep. With my hearing, nothing could sneak up on us, so both of us relaxed.

What am I doing? I thought. Now that I had the time to think, I found my mind had stored up quite a few questions for me. I guess that dream really did happen and now I can't use my TM and HM moves. Plus what else I learned then. What am I going to do about all that? And now String's mad at me for some reason… I left because I was sick of Pokémon, but I still brought along one.

I shifted, trying to get into a more comfortable position. I've always had a goal. Something to work for. At first it was to serve my trainer to the best of my ability. And then it was to get away from Unova. Then it was to live a peaceful life. And then it was to help KESFO against Caractacus. Then it was to get away from Eterna. Now…what's my goal now? Do I have one anymore?

I shivered. The days are getting chillier. Travel will be near-impossible once winter hits. What are we going to do then? Maybe my goal should be…finding a place to lay low for the winter. I don't want attention, I don't want to be a pawn, I just want String and I to be left alone… Maybe Hearthome City can provide that…

I settled deeper into the grass. Hopefully we'll find what we're looking for there.

I do not own the song String sings: "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly.

I decided to start over the chapter count at the beginning of every arc. Something to change things up a little bit I guess. :)

Thanks to Omega the Omniscient, zzzp2, Fallen Vanguard, and Decapoda for reviewing! :D