Hitomi's Journey in Unova Ch 9

Hey everyone, Hitomi here!

Well, I came upon Route 9, and I was greeted by some bikers and other goons. Thankfully, they weren't part of Team Plasma. One of them even said that he wouldn't stoop as low as they did. I guess even "bad dudes" have standards...heh. In any case, I came across a tall building called "Shopping Mall Nine". A mall?! All right! Though some people did want to battle me in the mall, it was still awesome. I splurged on all kinds of things including medicine and some neat TM's. Though the TM's were VERY expensive, at 90,000 Poke-dollars each! Yow! Then again, TM's are reusable, so I guess they had to compensate with price. I also got a free Thunderstone from a nice person, so that was good too.

After having my little shopping spree, I went back out, and from hearing a little tidbit from someone inside the mall, there was supposedly a cave here on this route. I decided to check it out. Turns out someone was blocking the way, saying there were really powerful Pokemon inside, and that only the Champion comes here to train once in awhile. I guess I won't be coming here anytime soon. Oh well, moving on!

I soon finally arrived in Opelucid City, and was greeted by the Champion himself, Alder. He advised me to follow him, so I did, and of course, Team Plasma was there too. Never a dull moment, I tell ya. We saw that Ghestis was trying to con everyone with his speech, even going so far as to tell them to release their Pokemon. Good thing nobody caved in to his foul words. It's good to see there are people who don't believe in such nonsense. In any case, once "Goofus" was on his way, I met up again with Iris as well as her father Drayden. Alder got right to the point and asked the two about the legendary Dragons. They confirmed that N was here with Reshiram earlier, and that I had to reawaken Zekrom. Iris complained that it wasn't fair and that the two dragons supposedly got along. Still...I guess it has to be done. Alder went ahead to the Pokemon League, leaving me to get my final badge.

Iris decided to escort me to her house so we could talk about the Dragon Pokemon. Nice place they got...has a very historic feel to it. Anyways, Drayden verified that what I had was indeed the Dark Stone. He mentioned that Reshiram and Zekrom were actually once the same Pokemon. That single Dragon Pokemon, along with two heroes, brought the Unova region into being. And thus people and Pokemon led happy lives together. However, one day, the older of the twin heroes, who sought truth, and the younger who sought ideals, began to argue about which one was right. At that point, the single Dragon Pokemon that was with them split into two, each one siding with one brother. And thus Reshiram and Zekrom came into being. Eventually the two fought on and on, but since they were both one in the same at one point, neither could outlast the other, and thus both were exhausted. The twin heroes proclaimed that no one side was right and called a truce. However, the heroes' sons brought up the fight again, and Reshiram and Zekrom destroyed Unova with fire and lightning, and afterwards, the two went into deep slumber.

Wow...quite a story. I wouldn't have believed it if not for everything going on, as well as seeing Reshiram with my own eyes. Still, Drayden made a promise to Alder to make me compete for the Opelucid Gym badge. Iris was to be my opponent, so that was that. I had to win this Gym battle...not just for myself, but so I can get into the Pokemon League and stop N! And so, I headed to Opelucid Gym. The place was very intimidating on the outside, with two large stone dragon heads mounted on the walls, but I was too determined to worry! The Gym was supposedly shaped like two dragons inside, so I had to make my way around to see if I could get to the top where Iris was.

Many Trainers and running around twisting platforms later, I finally arrived at Iris. This was it, my final Gym battle. I knew she wasn't going to take it easy on me, especially if she knew I was going to stop N and awaken Zekrom. So without any further ado, the battle was on! Now I had studied about Dragon types a bit, and I knew they had few weaknesses to speak of and were quite strong. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have any Pokemon that could prey off their few weaknesses, so I had to do whatever I could manage. This was truly a test of my skill.

Her first Pokemon was Fraxure. I had seen this Pokemon used by many of the other Trainers in the Gym, so it wasn't any trouble at all for Kid. The next one up was Druddigon, another dragon some of the Trainers used. It wasn't much harder, but it's Rough Skin did pinch Kid a bit. Still, nothing much to worry about....Until she let out her trump card...a Pokemon by the name of Haxorus! Now THIS thing...agh! So strong! It alone took out half of my team before it finally fell prey to Tressil's Air Slash....My heart was racing this entire time! I did it! I won!

I have it! The Legend Badge....the final badge! It's mine! I have all eight badges!

Phew...I was so exhausted after that that I HAD to head to the Pokemon Center, but before I did, Professor Juniper met me outside. She had a report on how to resurrect Zekrom, but unfortunately, she hadn't figured it out just yet. She figures it will wake up when it deems someone worthy. Oh well...still, she praised me for collecting all eight gym badges. She pointed out where I had to go next, and that was up north on Route 10. Past there was the Badge Check Gates and Victory Road, the final trial for Trainers who seek out the Elite Four.

Professor Juniper then asked me an odd question. She asked me if I regretted setting out on my Pokemon journey. Of course I didn't! If I didn't, I wouldn't have met all these wonderful people, or my Pokemon for that matter! Professor Juniper was quite pleased, saying that's exactly what she wanted to hear! As proof of that, and as a congratulations for me getting all eight badges, she gave me...P-Professor...th-this is a...a...a Master Ball?! Seriously!? This is a Poke Ball that can capture any Pokemon without fail whatsoever! I...wow, thank you, Professor!

I waved good-bye to her and smiled. However, I was still exhausted from the battle, and I knew that if Iris was this tough, I only knew the Elite Four was going to be even tougher. So after a rest, I decided that I would take a little time to hone my team's skills and be sure they were all ready for the challenges ahead. I'll report in when I am ready to head up Route 10.

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Okay! My team is in tip-top shape...I think we're ready to take on Victory Road! I began up Route 10, fighting Trainers along the way. These guys were definitely top-tier Trainers, and it showed. I also caught another Pokemon here, Rufflet. It's so cute! Looking at it reminded me of the Indians I've seen in old western movies, so I named it after a tribe of Indians I had heard about, Cherokee. Moving onwards, I was once again stopped by Cheren. He and Bianca were both there, and Cheren wanted to prove if I was truly ready for this. With that, he battled me once more. He had definitely gotten better since last time, both in mind and spirit, and even though he lost, he congratulated me, healed my team, and Bianca gave me some Max Revives for good luck. Thanks guys...I wouldn't have made it this far without you.

Seeing them off, I then went on my way forward. Soon...there it was. The Badge Check Gates. One by one I went through them, my heart pounding all the way. I was standing on the road to the four...no, five most powerful Trainers in Unova. Of course, I had come here for something else as well. N...it's time we settled things. As I went through each gate, I remembered the hard-fought battles at each Gym. I remember them as if it was yesterday...

This is it, Victory Road! This place was a tall spiraling mountain, much like Twist Mountain was, except that instead of going down into a gap, I was ascending upwards, with caves going inside and out. This was my final obstacle. It had to be conquered, no matter what! The future of all of Unova counted on it! As I went upwards, I saw that someone was showing another person that you could slide down the cliffs. I had a feeling I needed to utilize that fact to get through here, and I was right. Also, the Trainers here, like on Route 10, are top-notch ones. They battled me with Pokemon I hadn't seen before, and gave me good battles to warm myself up for the Elite Four.

Suddenly, as I was nearing the top...I felt it again. A strong presence. At first I thought I was just imagining it, but I knew it was real. Inside a cave known as the Trial Chamber, I saw another strange Pokemon, and it seemed to have the same air about it as Cobalion and Virizion did. This had to be the last of the trio of legendary Pokemon! I know I had a duty to that old man who told me of their legend...and now I think it's time I fulfilled that duty. This was the final of the trio...Terrakion!

Like it's brethren, Terrakion was a tough one. He seemed to utilize both the Sacred Sword attack like the others as well as Rock-based attacks. He put up quite a struggle before I finally caught him. I did it...I tamed all three of the legendary trio! With them by my side, I'm sure N, Team Plasma, and Ghestis won't stand a chance. I once again remembered the book about the three heroes that I read back home. Seeing how this was the last of the three, I gave a silent nod and bestowed it the name of the final hero...Porthos.

Exiting out of the Trial Chamber, I was soon out of Victory Road and heading into the Pokemon League. Now my real journey...begins.

Until next time...

-Hitomi Miyaka, Unova Pokemon Trainer