Chapter 3: The Journey Begins
Echo, Hibiki, and Melody ran through town before arriving at Route 1. "Took a bit longer than I thought, but we're on our journey." Echo told Hibiki.
"Yeah, I'm just excited. Speaking of, what Pokemon are you thinking about getting for your team?" Hibiki asked curiously as they walked through the grass.
"I don't know yet, but I'll see what comes to me. After all, a Pokemon Journey is supposed to be fun." Echo told her sister. Hibiki simply smiled as Melody simply floated behind them.
"What have I signed myself up for?" Melody mentally sighed. Echo then ran ahead a bit before turning to face her sister.
"Before we get to Harmony Town, why don't we have a battle?" Echo asked.
"I'm fine with that, but it seems a bit unfair that I have two Pokemon, one of them being a Meloetta." Hibiki told her sister.
"Why not just use only Venemy?" Echo questioned. Hibiki was about to say something before Melody floated in front of her.
"I'm fine with sitting out for this one, just so we can get a move on." Melody said before she floated off to the side. Hibiki simply sighed before giving a nod as she and Echo looked at each other.
"Looks like she decided that for me." Hibiki said with a shrug. Echo gave a small giggle putting on a somewhat serious face.
"Now then sis, hope you're ready for this." Echo told her sis. Hibiki simply nodded before they both grabbed their Pokeballs and called out their Pokemon. As both Venemy and Ralts appeared, Hibiki thought of a simple strategy.
"Should be simple enough. Fairy is weak to Poison after all, but the same could be said for Psychic against Poison." Hibiki thought as she looked at Venemy.
"Ralts, use Double Team!" Echo ordered. Ralts then split and made several copies of itself. "Don't think I don't know your plan. We both know how weaknesses work." Echo commented with a smile. Hibiki simply sighed as she examined the clones closely.
"Well… I have a solution to this. Venemy, use Rollout!" Hibiki said. Venemy then rolled into a sphere before speeding into one of the clones, destroying it. "Keep destroying the clones!" Hibiki called. Venemy did just that, picking up speed as he did so, until there were three .
"Confusion now!" Echo said. Ralts and its clones then concentrated as the attack connected and caused Venemy to stop its attack.
"You ok Venemy?" Hibiki asked, a bit concerned. Venemy simply shook itself off and gave an affirmative grunt. "Not a bad attack sis." Hibiki said as Ralts returned to normal.
"Thanks, we both know that one attack will probably take care of Ralts. No offense dear." Echo said. Ralts simply gave a quick nod before looking at Venemy. "Double Team once again!" Echo ordered, causing Ralts to split again. After seeing this maneuver again, Hibiki got an idea.
"Venemy, use Rollout again, but don't hit any of the clones!" Hibiki ordered. Melody, who was watching from the sidelines, was curious about this order, but Venemy understood what his trainer asked. Venemy then did as he was told and rolled between the clones, getting faster as he did.
"And what exactly is your plan here?" Echo asked, a hint of smugness in her voice. Almost immediately after she said that, a small cloud of dust started to form. Keeping an eye on all the Ralts, Hibiki simply breathed and focused. A few seconds had passed and Venemy was starting to slow down, but that's when she saw a Ralts attempting to clear the air around them.
"There Venemy!" Hibiki called out. Venemy then immediately headed to where his trainer said at full speed and hit its mark as it found the real Ralts. Ralts was immediately knocked back and attempted to stand up before falling on the ground.
"Ralts!" Echo exclaimed as she ran up to her Pokemon. Venemy then unrolled and steddied itself on the ground as Hibiki gave it a proud pat. "Are you ok?" Echo asked. Ralts gave a weak cry in confirmation and Echo simply sighed as she returned Ralts to it's POkeball. "I have to admit, that was a really smart move. Using Rollout to kick up dirt to find the real Ralts is something I didn't expect. How did you find the real one though?" Echo commented.
"I just did what I always do, I focused and listened." Hibiki told her sister.
"Listened?" Melody questioned.
"It's something I can do if I focus, just listen to various things a lot better than normal. Really helps with music." Hibiki explained as she recalled Venemy.
"Still, I'm surprised you managed to do that. It's definitely a skill I wish I had." Echo admitted.
"I could say the same for you and your tech skills." Hibiki told her sis, cheering her up a bit. The two of them continued on to Harmony Town, with Melody floating behind them and thinking a few things to herself.
"Maybe this won't be so bad, Hibiki seems to know what she's doing. She also seems really talented just naturally with that advanced hearing and battle strategies." Melody thought as she followed the two into town.
After a few more minutes of walking, the group arrived in Harmony Town. Compared to their hometown, Harmony Town was a bit more technologically advanced with AR stations, robots, and lots of mechanical things all around. As they entered the town, Melody entered her Pokeball herself stealthily. "You know, I still don't get why you made her do that. Like so what if people see her?" Echo told Hibiki.
"I mean… you know how people can spread info and rumors fast. I'm just trying to minimize it at the moment." Hibiki explained. Echo simply nodded as they walked by an antique store. As they rounded a corner, Hibiki stopped her sister as she looked ahead for a moment. "I was hoping to not run into him here." Hibiki said as she saw a familiar face. Echo looked ahead curiously and saw her sister looking at a group of three people talking.
"Who are you talking about?" Echo questioned.
"Wind and what I'm assuming are his friends." Hibiki responded cautiously. Echo simply nodded before they walked by them, stopping at a store near them. Deciding to get a look at to get a description of them to tell the IPP, she glanced over at the group while not making it obvious she was. From her current angle, she could see who she assumed were Wolf and Krystal. Wolf was a tall guy, looking to be around 25 years old, with black hair, brown eyes with a scar over his right eye, and tan skin wearing a black leather jacket, gray shirt, purple pants, and black boots. Krystal was an average sized girl, about 21 years old, with light blue hair, silver eyes, and white skin, wearing a sky blue blouse, blue jeans, and sea blue shoes. While she couldn't see Wind, she didn't remember how he looked, she could hear a bit of the conversation.
"Look, for right now, we split up. I'll go give our report, you two see what you can find about our target." Wind told the two. They simply nodded before walking away from Wind, leaving him alone. "Well, this is certainly going to be an explanation." Wind sighed before he turned and began to walk away. As he passed by the sisters, he stopped for a moment before turning around and looking at Echo. "Pardon me, but I feel like I've seen you before." Wind said awkwardly. Hibiki looked over at Echo before she sighed and turned to face WInd.
"Is that you Wind?" Hibiki asked in an unassuming voice. Taking the time to look at Wind, he was about 5' 10, about the same age as Krystal, with light green hair, blue eyes, white skin, wearing a green shirt, a sky blue jacket tied around his waist, green shorts, and blue sneakers.
"Oh Hibiki. I thought I saw you. Who's your friend if you don't mind me asking?" Wind said.
"That would be my twin sister, Echo." Hibiki said as Echo turned to face Wind.
"Huh, you two do look similar. Sorry about the misunderstanding Miss Echo." Wind said a bit sheepishly.
"It's fine, happens all the time." Echo told Wind, playing along with her sister.
"Anyway, you two are starting your journey for the League?" Wind questioned.
"Yep, I hope we get through it with no issues." Hibiki said, knowing full well everything could go horribly wrong.
"Honestly, I'm a little envious. I'm a bit too caught up in Pokemon research to join this time around." Wind said a bit sheepishly.
"Awe, well best of luck in your research. Speaking of the League though, do you have any tips you could give if you've attempted it before?" Echo asked. Wind stayed silent for a moment as he thought of an answer.
"There's no real tips I could give from when I remember other than a couple of things that I recall from my attempt that are commonly known. First, except for the Destiny Gym, all the gyms each have different teams based on the amount of badges you have. Second, the gym leaders will not be there all the time or will be away for a while. For example, I know Noire, the Dark type Gym Leader is going to be unavailable for about a month due to personal reasons. Lastly, and this a piece of advice, save the Noise Gym for last. That place is kind of infamous for being a pain to reach." Wind told the two.
As the two twins took that information in, Hibiki looked out to the north and saw a sight that she never gets tired of seeing. "Hey Wind, have you ever been up there?" Hibiki said as she pointed to the location. Wind looked to where she was pointing and smiled as he saw a familiar floating plateau over a mountain range.
"The Champion's Heaven, home of the Pokemon League? I have actually been there, made it to the Top 4." Wind said.
"Really? That is very interesting." Echo said, a bit surprised to hear that. Wind simply rubbed the back of his head before he looked at his phone.
"Sorry about the sudden urge to chat, but I have to go. Have a really important report to give to my bosses." Wind said nervously as he started to back away.
"Ok, nice to talk to you Wind." Hibiki told Wind as she waved goodbye. As Wind left their sight, Hibiki simply sighed as Echo looked at her sister.
"You know, I don't see what's your problem with Wind. He seems like a nice guy and was a top 4 in a previous League." Echo said. Hibiki simply looked away sheepishly with a slight blush on her face.
"W-Well, you know how I get. I still have my suspicions, but I know for sure the other two are the ones I heard the names of." Hibiki said.
"Either way, let's not think about them for now. I just want to take some time to relax before we take off to Symphony Town." Echo said as she eyed the Pokemon Center. Hibiki simply nodded and the two headed to the Pokemon Center.
After they checked into the Pokemon Center, they headed to their room and proceeded to talk with Melody, who had linked up with Echo as well, about what happened with Wind. "Well that does sound like the group that was chasing me, if only for the names. I can't say much for the appearance of them since they were in armor that didn't have a marking." Melody told the two as she sat on a counter.
"So it's entirely possible that those three are completely innocent?" Echo asked as she sat on one of the two beads in the room.
"Not exactly, it's just a possibility, Like I said, I have my suspicions, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now." Hibiki commented, sitting on the other bed.
"... You are too nice for your own good." Melody said with a sigh.
"That's Hibiki for you." Echo said with a small smile. Hibiki simply looked away and blushed as she gave a small pouty face.
"So to move away from that topic, and pardon me for asking a fairly obvious question, but how does the Pokemon League in Alaria differ from other Leagues?" Melody asked. Echo, after hearing that, got out her laptop and connected it to the projector in the room which powered on to show a map of the Alaria region.
"If you're asking that Melody, then I assume you know of how other Leagues operate with the gym order and all that. What separates Alaria is mainly how the Gyms are done. It's still the 8 gyms, but they can be done in any order, except for the Destiny Gym which is always last, unlike other regions that usually have a set circuit. The leaders also use different sets of Pokemon depending on how many badges the challenger has and even throw in a few curveballs later on to keep the challengers on their toes." Echo explained.
"Ok, why is the Destiny Gym excluded from that order rule?" Melody inquired.
"It's always the last gym because it's more meant to be a test of a trainer's skills and team composition. The leader there usus various types of Pokemon and is very skilled on top of that. It's not an easy task to bring him down, which is why he's saved for last." Echo told Melody. Melody simply nodded before turning to the Mountain range in the distance and the floating plateau. "That is another thing that is different, the Champion's Heaven, home to the Pokemon League. Obviously there is the usual Victory Road and when you get to the end, you are teleported to the plateau. However, the main difference is being able to reach the Pokemon League without all the badges." Echo said.
"Ok, what kind of loophole is this?" Melody questioned curiously. In response, Echo pulled up an image of the mountain range and zoomed in on the mountain with the highest peak.
"Mount Heaven's Reach is home to the Victory Road and a very interesting alternative known as the Challenger's Climb. The Challenger's Climb is an alternate route for anyone who wants to get to the league but doesn't have all of the badges. Simply put, it is an absolutely rigorous climb that trainers can attempt. If they get to the end within 2 hours of starting their trek, they will be accepted as a League challenger." Echo elaborated.
"Wow… that sounds hard and grueling. How many have successfully done the trek?" Melody asked.
"Only like 20-30 in total since it's been introduced. For reference, at least a good 2000 people have attempted it." Echo told Melody. Melody simply nodded before turning to Hibiki, who had been quiet the whole time. She then saw that Hibiki was silently reading a notebook intensely.
"Are you ok Hibiki?" Melody questioned. Hibiki gave a quick yelp as she shook a bit, earning a giggle from Echo.
"Sorry, what were you talking about?" Hibiki said as she put down the notebook.
"I was just explaining how the league worked to Melody. Your reading over grandma's songbook?" Echo told Hibiki as she moved next to her.
"Yeah… I just don't believe mom gave this to me." Hibiki said with a sad smile.
"You really loved her a lot, didn't you?" Echo said, a sad frown on her face. Hibiki simply nodded as Melody simply floated over Hibiki's shoulder and looked at the songbook herself.
"... This is amazing, your grandmother must have been an amazing musician." Melody said as she looked at the songs on the notebook. Hibiki continued to look through the songbook for a few more minutes with melody and Echo before she closed it and put it away into her bag, a few tears welling up in her eyes.
"You going to ok sis?" Echo asked in a caring tone.
"Yeah… just remembering grandma." Hibiki said in a somewhat cracked voice, wiping the tears away. Echo gave her sister a hug from behind, which made Hibiki smile before she quickly slapped herself lightly. "All right then, let's get to bed. I'm excited for our next stop." Hibiki said as she laid down on her bed. Echo simply nodded as she did the same and Melody returned to her Pokeball. "Love you sis, good night." Hibiki said as she turned off the room light. Echo returned that sentiment before they both started to snore loudly.