Hey all, managed to get this chapter done before the end of January. Just wanted to give a quick update, college has started for me and I might not be able to get Chapters out as fast as I want to, so expect update to be a bit slower. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 18: Gym of the Mystic! Echo vs Myth!
The next day, with everyone rested up, the group headed to the gym. "You two are still going about this gym challenge despite the mission yesterday? I respect the commitment, but you two really should think about this." Sigma asked.
"Look, I've wanted to go on this journey for a while, I'm going to do the gym challenge." Hibiki responded.
"And the only reason I'm going along is to keep an eye on her cause you've seen how reckless she is." Echo chimed in.
"You know… fair enough." Sigma said.
"I'm surprised that you aren't going to be participating in the gym challenge Sigma. You would have had something to do at least rather than just wait for them to be done." Cherry commented.
"I thought about it, but decided against it personally. I like the idea of becoming the Alarian Champion, but it's not just for me." Sigma said. Cherry simply nodded as they arrived in front of the gym and saw Myth motioning for them to enter.
"Ah, I was wondering where you all were. I would have thought you would rest another day, but I prepared just in case. Just Echo and Hibiki will be participating right?" Myth questioned.
"Correct." Hibiki said.
"Perfect, come in and we can discuss the details of our battles." Myth told the group. They nodded and all entered the gym, with Cherry and Sigma taking a seat in the stands while Hibiki and Echo went with Myth to the arena. "So are there any specifics that I need to know about you two?" Myth asked.
"Well, aside from Melody, I think you know about everything. Speaking of, do you still have only two team members sis?" Hibiki responded.
"I actually have three members, I was out last night and caught another one. Meant to show it to you earlier today, but I forgot." Echo told the two.
"That's good, do you mind going first in that case? I'm positive that Melody is rested enough, but one can never be too sure." Hibiki asked.
"Sure, I can do that." Echo responded.
"Ok, then I'll go get ready." Myth responded, before walking off to a nearby door. As they waited for Myth to get his team set up, Hibiki walked over to the stands.
"You know, I'm surprised that you actually caught another Pokemon without me knowing. When did you catch it and what is it?" Echo asked.
"I caught it last night… ok caught isn't the right word for it. You see, I was up a bit later than I normally am, thinking about what to do for the gym tomorrow, when I found a stow away in my stuff." Echo began to explain.
"So a Pokemon managed to get into your bag and you befriended it?" Cherry asked.
"Kind of, let me introduce you to them." Echo said as she got out their Pokeball. Tossing it in the air, it opened and a Rotom appeared in a flash of light.
"A Rotom? …Oh you meant it was in your tech?" Sigma asked.
"Yep, when I was booting up my laptop, he popped out and really surprised me. It seemed like it hopped in there when we were back in Alaria City. He seemed friendly enough and he eventually just moved over to one of my empty Pokeballs before he activated it and captured himself." Echo explained.
"Huh, did you give him a name?" Hibiki asked.
"Spark." Echo said.
"I still think you might have a hard time even with a third Pokemon, especially with a Sewaddle and a Ralts, no offense." Hibiki told Echo.
"None taken and I do see your point, but I did take the time to train the two of them yesterday and on the way. I can only hope that it's enough for the battle." Echo said. Hibiki simply nodded in approval as Myth walked out from his prep room. "Looks like I'm up… here goes nothing." Echo said as she walked to the arena.
"I assume you're ready?" Myth asked Echo.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Echo said as the two got into position. Myth simply nodded as a Drone Rotom flew above the dirt field and displayed a picture of the two combatants before speaking.
"This battle will be a Gym match between Gym Leader Myth and Challenger Echo. The first combatant to have all of their Pokemon fainted loses. Let the match begin."
"Come on out Spark!" Echo called as she sent out her Rotom.
"Let's go, Floette!" Myth called out his Pokemon.
"All right Spark, use Shadow Ball now!" Spark excitedly zipped around before charging up a ball of Shadows and shooting it at Myth's Floette.
"Dodge it and use Fairy Wind!" Floette did as it was told, dodging Spark's attack before launching a gust of pink wind at Spark, who quickly dodged out of the way. "Use Razor Leaf!" Floette nodded, before launching a barrage of leaves at Spark, some of which hit Spark as it was dodging.
"Double Team!" Spark nodded before it zipped around, making several clones of itself as it did so. Myth waited for a moment and thought of a plan as Spark drew closer. "Use Nasty Plot and follow it up with Thunder Shock!" Rtotm proceeded to think of a plan as it charged up a small electric attack and zapped Floette with it, who seemed a bit bothered by it.
"Use Calm Mind and focus on Spark's Movements." Floette closed its eyes as she felt her mind clear and proceeded to concentrate on Spark's movements. After a moment, she felt a movement behind her and smiled as she launched a Razor Leaf at Sprak, managing to hit the sparking ghost.
"That was a nice one. Use Light Screen and defend yourself!" Spark shook off the damage before putting a barrier in front of itself.
"Magical Leaf!" Floette nodded as several flashing leaves appeared and flew towards Spark, who managed to hold off the attack with it's barrier. "Keep it up! That barrier will break eventually." Floette nodded and kept the attack going, eventually getting to the point where Spark's Light Screen was cracking. "When the barrier gets close to breaking, get close and use Dazzling Gleam." Floette nodded and continued to use Magical Leaf until the Light Screen was close to breaking. She then rushed forward and got close as the barrier shattered before using Dazzling Gleam and blasting Spark with a flash of light.
"... Just as planned. Use Astonish now!" Echo said, a small smirk on her face. As the light dimmed, Spark was nowhere to be seen before reappearing right behind Floette, scaring . "Shadow Ball now!" Spark did as it was told and launched a Shadow Ball at Floette, hit it hard and knocked it away before it fainted. Myth simply nodded with a small smile and returned Floette to his Pokeball.
"Well done, I should have figured you would try something like that. That was a Substitute behind that barrier right?" Myth asked.
"Exactly, even though we've been together for a short time, Spark seems to know what I want him to do." Echo responded.
"Well then, guess I'll have to see about taking them down. Come on out Kirlia!" Myth said as he threw out another Pokeball. It opened and released a KIrlia that twirled as it appeared, before looking at Spark. "Use Psybeam!" Kirlia nodded before laughing a beam of psychic energy at Spark, who managed to dodge it. "Let's take a page out of their book, use Double Team!" Kirlia nodded as it spun around before splitting into 7 copies and separating. "Use Psybeam on the floor and keep around Spark's area." The clones nodded and they all mimicked the motion for the move before the Psybeam hit the ground, causing a dust cloud to be kicked up before the clones proceeded to move about.
"Well… thankfully we have something for this, use Shock Wave!" Spark nodded and let out a wave of electricity, destroying all the clones and hitting Kirlia causing her to disappear. "...Oh boy, Spark be careful. She could come from anywhere." Spark nodded weakly as he stayed in place and looked around for Kirlia. After a few moments, Spark noted some movement behind him and launched another Shock Wave, managing to hit Kirla and knock her back.
"Teleport now!" Kirlia nodded before blinking away and reappearing above Spark. "Use Shadow Ball now!" She put hands close together and a ball of Shadows appeared in between them, before she launched at Speak, landing a direct hit on the Rotom and knocking it out. "Looks like this one goes to me!" Myth said as his Kirla bowed.
"Got to admit, that was a good one. Letting your Kirla get hit, then Teleporting before Spark could react." Echo said as she returned Spark to its Pokeball. Echo gave a small smirk before she got out another Pokeball and tossed it in the air before catching it. "Don't think this means it's over though! Come on out Leaf!" Echo told Myth as she threw the Pokeball, releasing Leaf onto the field.
"Don't even let it start, Hypnosis!" Kirlia nodded before she looked at Leaf and let out hypnotic waves towards her opponent.
"Grass Whistle!" Leaf nodded hesitantly before she whistled a small tune as the waves hit her, resisting as much as she could. Kirlia heard the tune and tried to resist it, but she couldn't and the two fell asleep almost simultaneously. "Welp… this just happened." Echo said as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head.
"Yep… you wouldn't happen to have Awakenings on you?" Myth questioned. Echo simply nodded no as the two trainers looked at the field.
"Aren't you the one that is usually prepared for this kind of stuff sis?" Hibiki called out, a small grin on her face.
"You're not the one battling right now." Echo responded, shooting a glare at her sister. Hibiki flinched at the glance, earning a small chuckle from Cherry and Sigma as Hibiki blushed a bit in embarrassment.
"You two definitely are sisters, that's for sure." Myth said as he put his hands behind his head. Echo simply blushed and was about to say something when Leaf slowly yawned and woke up, shaking off her sleep. "Of for the love of- Kirla, are you up yet?" Myth asked. The response he got was a small snore and head nod, letting Myth know that she was still asleep now.
"Leaf, use Bug Bite quickly!" Leaf looked around and nodded before going up to Kirlia and biting her hard. The bites caused Kirlia to wake up and hop away from Leaf, landing a bit away and staggering in pain a bit. "Razor Leaf!" Leaf conjured a bunch of leaves and launched them at Kirlia, them all hitting their mark.
"Psybeam now!" Kirlia nodded as she let loose another beam of psychic energy.
"Use Protect!" As she heard the order, Leaf put up a protective shell and the Psybeam hit the shell before dissipating as nothing happened.
"Ok we need to end this fast. This will be a bit risky, but use Sunny Day and follow it up with Fire Punch." Kirlia nodded and she chanted, causing the weather in the arena to change to a bright, sunny day. She then quickly moved forward as the Protect that Leaf had put up faded and covered her first in fire, the flame burning brighter in the sun, before jumping in for an aerial punch.
"Solar Beam!" Leaf looked up at Kirlia and opened her mouth, before firing a golden yellow beam straight at Kirlia. Seeing the beam coming for her, she attempted to dodge, but wasn't successful as the beam hit it's mark and she was sent flying back towards Myth, who caught his Pokemon.
"Should have figured that you had that one on standby. Did your mom give you the T.M. for Solarbeam?" Myth questioned as he returned Kirla to her Pokeball.
"She did actually, even told me about that little combo of yours a few years ago." Echo responded. Myth simply sighed and gave a small smile before getting out a Great Ball.
"You certainly have your grandmother's memory, I can say that for certain. Guess that means I'll just have to get a tad more serious. Let's go, Granbull!" Myth said as he tossed out his pokeball and released his last Pokemon. Granbull howled as it landed, scaring Leaf a tad as Echo simply gulped nervously. "Use Taunt!" Granbull simply nodded as he cracked knuckles and taunted Leaf, goading her to attack him. Leaf got a little peeved at that and fell for the taunt causing Echo to sigh.
"Caution to the wind then. Use Razor Leaf!" Leaf obeyed and launched another barrage of leaves at Granbull.
"Charge through it and use Bite!" As the Razor Leaf hit him, Granbull simply charged through the leaves and chopped Leaf hard.
"Use Solar Beam!" Leaf shook off the attack and got ready to fire off another beam as it was still sunny.
"Dodge it and use Fire Fang!" Granbull quickly hopped over Leaf before turning around and biting Leaf again with a mouth of bright fire. Unable to dodge the attack, Leaf was hit and screamed before she fainted.
"...All right, fair play." Echo said as she returned Leaf to her Pokeball.
"Told you I was getting serious." Myth said.
"Yeah you were, looks like this battle is ending soon." Echo responded as she got out Psy's Pokeball. Before throwing the Pokeball out, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself before looking at Granbull. "Let's end this Psy!" Echo yelled as she called out her last Pokemon. As Psy appeared on the field, he looked around before seeing the Granbull and getting fired up to fight. "Let's start off with Thunder Wave!" Psy nodded as he waved his hand in front of him, sending a surge of electricity at Ganbull.
"Dodge it!" Grunbull attempted to do as it was told, but wasn't able to as the attack connected and he felt his body seize up.
"All right, now use Confusion!" Psy nodded before he put his hands to his head and let loose a blast of Psychic energy. The blast hit Granbull and he held his head before shaking his head and looking angry.
"Come on Granbull, shake off that paralysis!" Myth cheered. Hearing the cheers, Granbull managed to stand up and shake off the paralysis. "All right, time for some payback. Use Bite!" Granbull nodded before running towards Psy, who proceeded to hold his ground.
"Keep your distance with Teleport and use Thunder Shock when you can." Psy nodded before teleporting as Granbull reached his location and dodged his attack. As Psy reappeared a distance away, she let out an electric shock that hit Granbull, causing it a bit of pain.
"Use Dig!" Granbull nodded before digging a hole and headed underground, away from sight. Psy looked around for a bit, and panicked as she realized what was happening when he saw the hole.
"Calm down and focus! See if you can sense him underground. If you can, Teleport out of the way. Don't get scared, I know you can do it." Echo cheered. Psy looked at Echo for a moment before smiling and doing as she said, standing still and sensing the vibrations. After a few seconds, she felt vibrations getting closer to her, but waited a moment as the vibrations got more intense. As the shaking reached its peak, Psy teleported into the air as Granbull emerged where he used to be. "Psybeam now!" Psy nodded before he launched a beam of psychic energy that managed to hit Granbull, causing him to emerge from the ground in pain. Psy then landed on her feet before turning around and seeing Granbull still up.
"Don't think we're going to let you win this easily." Myth told Echo, a smile on his face.
"Wasn't planning on that, just know that the two of us are beating you and getting your badge." Echo said in a confident voice. As she did, she looked over and saw that Psy was enveloped in a white light, signifying Psy's evolution, which made her eyes go wide. Eventually, Psy grew a bit taller and the light faded as Psy's evolution finished. "Amazing Psy, you've evolved!" Echo exclaimed happily. Psy simply nodded happily before dodging a charge from Granbull.
"We need to end this quickly, use Bulldose!" Granbull nodded as he slammed down on the ground, causing violent vibrations and hurting Kirlia. "Now Earthquake!" Granbull nodded and proceeded to strike at the ground a lot, preparing his next move.
"Teleport into the air now!" Psy nodded as the ground around him quaked and split open, narrolly teleporting out in time. Granbull, getting ready for an attack from above, looked up only to see Psy skating in the air, surprising the Pokemon.
"Using the residual electric waves to skate through the air, she seems to be getting her evolution fast." Myth said.
"Well thank you for the compliment. Thunderbolt now!" Psy twirled in the air for a moment before bolts of thunder dashed towards and shocked Granbull, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Flamethrower!" Granbull shook the pain off and launched a flamethrower at Psy, who gracefully dodged the attack by skating through mid air. "All right then, use Protect and thin of a way to escape!" Granbull nodded and encased himself in a protective barrier. Psy kept skating in the air as he waited for a chance while Echo simply looked on. Eventually, the barrier began to quake and Psy used this as a chance to use another Thunderbolt, striking Granbull only to find that he hit a Substitute. "Had a feeling I would need to do something like that to get out of that situation." Myth told Echo.
"Fair play, but I had something prepared for this. Trick Room now!" Psy nodded and twirled in place before a field went out and encompassed the arena. Myth was taken aback by the move as Granbull dug up behind Psy, not used to his new Speed. "End this with a Thunderbolt!" Psy nodded before she sent another surge of thunder at Granbull, shocking him again and causing him to finally faint. After a moment of silence there was a buzzer as the Rotom Drone flew down over the field.
"Leader Myth is out of Pokemon, the winner is Challenger Echo!" the drone declared Echo cheered as she jumped out of happiness and ran to go hug Psy.
"We did it, we won!" Echo said as she hugged Psy. Psy nodded as he smiled and accepted the hug.
"Well I must admit, I didn't expect you to use Trick Room at the end there. That was a very good play." Myth said as he extended his hand. Echo shook Myth's hand with a smile and was a bit surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly looked and saw Hibiki standing next to her, a proud smile on her face. "Now then, with my authority as gym leader, I proudly present you the Fairy Tale Badge." Myth said as he got out a small book shaped badge and held it out to Echo. Echo took the badge and smiled before she stowed it away.
"I take it you're going to want to speak with me for our battle considering you know about Melody?" Hibiki questioned.
"Yes I do, come." Myth said as he walked back to his side of the field. Echo gave Hibiki a good luck smile as she and Echo returned to the stands with Psy.
A few minutes had passed and the battle between Hibiki and Myth had started with Echo watching her sister from the stands. "That was a really good battle Echo, I honestly didn't see that Trick Room maneuver at the end coming. Speaking of, how many TMs do you own?" Sigma asked.
"I own a lot and share them with my sister, we inherited them from our grandmother." Echo told Sigma. Sigma nodded before feeling a bit bad about asking the question, which Echo noticed. "You don't have to feel bad about it, I get asked the question all the time." Echo told Sigma.
"I still feel about bringing it up." Sigma said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Echo was silent for a moment before she realized what he was talking about.
"Oh about our grandmother, don't worry too much about it." Echo said as she shifted awkwardly.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are your feelings about your grandmother?" Cherry asked.
"Well, I loved her as much as you should. She was nice, kind, and a very good songstress on top of being the regional Champion. She's still my major role model in my life." Echo explained.
"Wow, she must have meant a lot to you." Sigma commented.
"She did, which is why I was so heartbroken when I found out she died. It was just so… sudden." Echo said, her voice getting a bit quiet as she clenched her fist.
"I can't imagine how you two must have felt back then, losing someone you love at such a young age." Sigma said, putting a hand on Echo's shoulder as a sign of comfort.
"It definitely was hard to deal with for a while after we got the news, Hibiki and I cried for a good two weeks as we got used to life without her. At the end though, I think the two of us came out stronger for it." Echo said.
"I'll say, she would be proud of how you two turned out. Speaking of Symphia, and apologies if this sounds like it's offensive, but have you thought about what you're going to do after this Champion attempt?" Cherry asked.
"Honestly, I plan on giving it a few more tries, but I'm mainly looking to head into the computer industry, maybe become a hacker or something like that. Hell, I might even give this whole IPP an actual shot if I feel like it." Echo responded.
"Hey this job isn't all that it's cracked up to be." Cherry commented. Echo simply laughed as she heard the buzzer and turned to see Melody take down Myth's Gardevoir.
"Leader Myth is out of Pokemon, the winner is Challenger Hibiki!" Hibiki simply nodded as she leaned down and gave Melody a high five.
"Man, Melody is really good and your orders aren't half bad either." Myth said sheepishly as he shook Hibiki's hand.
"I did warn you that we're pretty good." Hibiki said. Echo smiled and she got up from her seat to go congratulate her sister.
"Well then, I suppose you'll be wanting this. It's my honor as Gym Leader to give you the Fairy Tale Badge." Myth said, holding out his badge. Hibiki smiled as she took it and Echo approached the two standing there. "Now then, Where are you two planning on heading next?" Myth asked. The two tilted their heads as they thought about that before they heard the sound of someone clapping.
"That was a good show, you two. I have to say, I'm impressed." a voice said from the stands. Everyone turned around to see a 35 year old woman with long yellow hair, white skin, and purple eyes with black tinted glasses resting on her forehead, wearing a purple tuxedo jacket and pants, a white under shirt, and back dress shoes. As they saw the woman walked down from the stands, everyone was shocked to see her there except for Sigma who looked a bit confused.
"Who is she?" Sigma quietly asked Cherry.
"That is the current champion of the Alaria Region, Adagio Starwind." Cherry responded. Sigma nodded and joined her in being shocked as Adagio walked up to Myth, Hibiki, and Echo.
"Adagio… I didn't hear you come in, else I would have given you a special seat." Myth said, stuttering a bit.
"I came in before through the back just to prevent that, you know how I feel about it. Plus, I doubt I would have witnessed two spectacular battles without putting some pressure on these two." Adagio said as she looked at Hibiki and Echo. They stayed silent before Adagio extended her hand for a handshake, causing hibiki to shake her hand and Echo to do the same. "You two are Symphia's grandkids right?" Adagio asked during the handshake.
"We are." Echo responded.
"I was wondering if I would see you two as I made my rounds. She told me about a lot of you two back when I was making my journey." Adagio said.
"Wait, you knew our grandmother ?" Hibiki asked, a bit of disbelief in her voice.
"I was the one she checked up on the most during my journey, even showing me a thing or two. Hell, she even helped me take down Team Magna back in the day." Adagio said.
"Team Magna… I remember reading about them. Weren't they that team that tried to disrupt the magnetic fields of the region to "reach salvation" or something like that?" Echo said.
"Right on the money." Adagio said, feeling a bit nostalgic.
"Wow, no wonder you were chosen to succeed our grandmother, she must have thought highly of you." Hibiki said.
"Yeah, she did… and I realize I'm very late in saying this, but sorry I couldn't do much to protect her 10 years ago." Adagio said, her voice getting a little quiet.
"Don't worry about it, only so much could have been done." Hibiki responded, looking down at the ground herself. There was silence for a moment before Adagio coughed and noticed Melody hiding behind Hibiki.
"Is that a Meloetta?" Adagio asked. Melody poked her head from behind Hibiki, who told her it was safe, before she floated in front of Adagio. "Amazing, I had heard the rumors that one of you had a Meloetta, but I just had to see if it was true." Adagio said, a bit of amazement in her voice.
"Please don't tell anyone about her." Echo said as she bowed her head.
"I wasn't planning on it, just something I wanted to confirm myself. Anyways, I must be off." Adagio told the two.
"Off to go see more challengers I take it?" Myth asked.
"Yep, I have a feeling that I'll be seeing you two later." Adagio said as she walked out of the building.
"Well… that was something I didn't expect to happen." Hibiki commented.
"She likes to visit the gyms on occasion to check out the challengers." Myth told her.
"She's nice and friendly, I take it she's a good trainer as well?" Echo asked. Myth simply nodded as Cherry and Sigma walked up to the group. "We should probably head out, we need to get to Export Harbor soon if we want to catch a ship to Verdant Isle." Echo said.
"Oh, then don't let me keep you." Myth said as he waved the group goodbye. Echo nodded as the group waved goodbye and left the building.
"Verdant Isle then?" Sigma asked.
"Yep, if I'm right about what I saw, ship space is going fast and we'll need to catch a boat to get there." Echo responded.
"What would be the fastest road to get there then?" Cherry questioned.
"Well, since the road going past the Terra Dome is currently closed for maintenance, we have to go by the old Opera House." Echo said before looking at Hibiki. As she did, she saw her sister get visibly nervous and put on a brave face.
"Really? The supposedly haunted, abandoned Opera House?" Hibiki asked.
"Are you scared we will encounter ghosts?" Sigma asked in a playful tone.
"Yep." Hibiki responded, a shaky smile on her face.
"Don't worry it's not… you know what, never mind what I was about to say. Just know that we'll be there with you the whole way." Echo said. Hibiki sighed as the group made their way out of town and to the south west of Fairy Tale Grove.