The Journey to the Top - Odd and Others

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"Alright, I've got all of my Pokeballs together. My bag is packed. Lykas know I'm gonna be gone for a while......I have my SNAG." Odd said to himself, going over a mental checklist of all his things.

~You really think you're ready to go back after all this time?~

"I do. It's been way too long since the last time I went to visit them up there and, last I heard, Sister Cassandra wasn't doing so well. I want to go visit before it's too late to see her again." Odd replied to Cadenza's internal question.

~But is it wise to climb this mountain alone? Especially now of all times?~ Cadenza inquired, truly worries for Odd's well being if he intended to follow through with his plan .

"Maybe not but I really couldn't just ask anyone to go up there with me." Odd responded, picking up his bag and turning to find that he had failed to close the bedroom door and there was a good chance anyone passing by might have heard his side of that conversation.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd nodded to the young woman as he hoisted his bag up and over his shoulder. "That's because I am. I'm heading home for a few days since it's the holidays." He told her, recalling Cadenza to his ball as he grabbed his hoverboard and started to close the door. He wasn't about to tell her his Pokemon wanted him to ask for company, though. No point in dragging someone else along up the mountainside just to visit his old family with him, especially since they'd never even heard about where he came from before.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd paused when Terashi appeared in front of him. "It's up toward the top of the mountain." He replied to Terashi's question, trying to figure out how far the distance would be from here. "It shouldn't take more than a day to get there, provided the weather doesn't turn too bad in the meantime." He admitted as he set his hoverboard on the ground and started it up. How well it would handle the snow and rocks of the mountainside was anyone's guess but he refused to subject Treble to that kind of flight. The Drifblim wasn't likely to hand the cold all that well, after all.

"It'd take a lot less time but Dissonance still has the Shadow Virus and I don't trust him to fly straight there and not spread it around Johto at the moment." He admitted with a nervous laugh. "I'll be back in a few days, though."  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd smirked at Terashi when he insisted on going with him. "You do realize that, considering this is my home we're going to, I've done this countless times before, right?" He asked as his hoverboard whirred to life and he stepped on. "Besides, I've got more than just Cadenza with me. I just don't plan to have a need for them to battle if I can avoid it." He added before spinning around the duo of trainers on his board. "But if you insist on coming with me, I'm not going to fight you over it. Just be respectful of my family when we get there. That's all I ask." Terashi and Keiko would likely both understand when they arrived.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd would begin to lead the way up the mountainside, following a very, very old path. One that practically no one else even knew existed due in part to it's age but primarily because it was poorly kept and somewhat overgrown. The only reason it could be seen in the first place today was that the season had killed off much of the plant life that normally obscured it. "Be careful out here. There are a few places where you can fall if you're not." He warned his friends.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"Father Clancy told me when I was little that Bruno of the Kanto Elite Four used to climb this same path all the time to train." Odd explained to Rala when he heard her mental voice. "Then again, it could just be the energy left behind by those who take the pilgrimage up the mountain to visit my home." He conjectured, sensing the spiritual energies that likely went along with what Rala could sense.

"Although, it might also just be the wild Pokemon. There are some pretty powerful ones in the wild out here." Neither Terashi nor Keiko would have to find out about them or the dangerous parts of the trail just yet, thankfully. But who could say for sure how long that would hold out? The journey had only just begun after all.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"You guys should be fine. You've got me with you and between you, there should enough firepower to at least drive away would-be offenders even if you can't outright beat them." Odd encouraged the both of them, leading them a bit further up the trail before it widened out into a much safer space. They should be able to travel side by side from here if they chose.

It hadn't taken long but they were a fair distance up the mountain by this point and Odd began to take notice. "We won't be able to use our boards for too much longer unless the snow's thick up here today." He announced as they continued up.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd chuckled at Keiko's question. "You ever tried climbing stairs with one of these things? It's worse than that up here." He explained. "The ground becomes too uneven for the boards to maintain their 'hover' job." That, of course, was only true if the snow wasn't deep enough to bury the uneven ground under the much smoother layer of white Odd was most familiar with.

It wouldn't take too much longer before that became apparent. The snow was falling already by this point but it wasn't thick enough upon the ground to make the use of their boards a reliable method of travel. So Odd stopped and got off his own board, stowing it between his backpack and his back now. "Welp. Time for our pants to get wet." He announced with a small laugh. Was he enjoying this? This brutal environment could be deadly and he was laughing about it, after all.