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An interview with Icirrus City’s ingénue, on her music, battling and what she holds true.
Unova’s newest Gym Leader, Irida, offers National Gymquirer a glimpse of her own space, and her ideals.
On some occasions, those who visit Anville Town can hear the beautiful melody of a flute drifting over the resting trains. The music calms all who hear it, people and Pokémon alike, as they arrive in the old town via the rickety Anville Express.
“It’s the emotion I always feel whenever I come back here, the emotion I want to convey with my music,” Gym Leader Irida Richter reveals, twisting her signature flute in her hands. “My grandparents live here. As a child, I used to stay with them whenever my father was especially busy with his work. I have many wonderful memories of this town – of family, and the spaces dear to them.”
Her skill is well-known in the small town, where she first performed to an audience of family and friends for a talent show. “The sense of community here in this neighbourhood, the feeling of finding a space where you are safe and welcomed, no matter your past…that’s what this town gave me, and what I would love to give back to others in return.” She adds.
From Anville to Icirrus, and even her childhood home of Driftveil City, the 18-year-old musician has left her mark across Unova despite her young age. With her Ice-types and her trusty flute, she travels across the region helping Pokémon and trainers bond, through her gift for music. “It’s a universal language,” she explains, “not just between Pokémon and us people, but also between people of different places. No matter where you go, however far away from home you go, even at the ends of space – so long as there are people, there will be music. It’s a constant that connects us all.”
The power of her music had already been proven long ago, as she tells the story of how she befriended her Zoroark, even before becoming a trainer proper: “Hisuian Zorua are, as most people might know, apprehensive at best around humans. For good reason; historically, they were known as the Baneful Fox, feared and hurt by us humans, and lashing out at us in vengeance in return. There are many centuries of enmity between our species. Needless to say, us two had a pretty rough start.” However, all that changed when, to calm herself, she decided to take out her flute. “As it turned out, he loved the sound of the flute so much, he immediately calmed down as well! We sat there for hours, together, us and the flute. Even Dad was surprised that we had managed to become such fast friends.”
She may have helped many Pokémon and people communicate through music – but now, as a Gym Leader, she is exploring a different path to strengthen the bonds between trainer and Pokémon, through battling.
“To be honest, my father was probably the biggest inspiration in terms of my pursuing the path of a Gym Leader,” Irida admits. “His job also revolves around testing the skill of other trainers in battle. He encourages them to keep on trying, to go further and further, to reach new heights. Watching him help so many challengers reach their destinations, and how much it meant to them – I knew that I wanted to do the same, to help people the same way.”
Her father, of course, being the famous Subway Boss Ingo Richter, who adopted her at the age of 9, not two years after the founding of the Battle Subway. And his legacy certainly sets the bar high; with multiple Champion-level qualifications under his belt, and being Unova’s beloved first Facility Head alongside his twin brother (and Irida’s uncle) Emmet, living up to his name is a massive task. Still, she isn’t particularly daunted by the shadow she has to grow out of.
“I may look up to my father a lot – who doesn’t? – but ultimately, I’m not him.” Is her view on the situation. The father-daughter duo are different indeed; Irida is nowhere near as enthusiastic about trains as Ingo, and in turn the Subway Boss is not known to be particularly invested in music in general, beyond trying to understand his daughter’s side of the craft. “Though, of course, we respect each other’s interests, he isn’t really disappointed that I’m not a diehard railfan like him, or anything. I hope.” Irida remarks. “Anyway, the point is, we aren’t the same. I have my own path I want to forge, my own space I want to carve, and it will be different from his. He’s a Subway Boss, I’m a Gym Leader. We already work in different spaces, use different Pokémon. I’m not following his tracks fully.”
Irida’s decision to work at the Icirrus Gym, specifically, was moreso a matter of type specialty; her affinity with Ice has always been part of her, and Icirrus City, a chilly place with constant snow in winter has traditionally been the hub for Ice-type specialists. Even then, she believes she can find a home in the city. “Icirrus also has a tradition of music and dance. Back when I first reached the city on my personal trainer’s journey, I remember being entranced by a few people dancing around and singing beneath a tree. It was a beautiful sight – I paused to look, and then got dragged into the dance too. It was pretty fun all around.”
Even then, she isn’t about to leave behind Driftveil City, where she grew up, perpetually surrounded by the sea breeze and the view of ships from faraway regions entering port. “It was a pastime of mine, whenever I was at home, to watch the ships pass, and wonder where in the vast space they could be travelling to, over the horizon.” She smiles. “I guess constantly thinking about travel is in the blood. Metaphorically.” She would not forget her family friends either; besides her immediate family, she cites fellow Gym Leader Clay Nakai as one of the people who supported her most in her journey to become a Gym Leader. “When Dad and I moved to Driftveil, he was there. He essentially watched me grow up. He’s one of the people who understands my path to becoming a Gym Leader best.”
With so many cities holding such significance to her, one might wonder – which city does Irida call home, above all?
“It’s hard to say. How do you define a home? The space you dwell in, or the Pokémon and people who share space with you?” She replies. “Because the spaces we stay in can and will change. We may define them by our memories, but that isn’t really the end-all of things. Even with these precious memories, different parts of me consider different parts of Unova ‘home’, with all the family I’ve found. So, I’d say, well, all these cities are home in some way. They all mean different things to me.” One thing is for certain, though – and it’s that no matter what, Unova is her home.
“If there’s one aspiration I have, it’s to help everyone find a place they belong.” Irida resolves. “So many people have guided me to where I am now, to where, I believe, I’ve found my place in this vast world. Or maybe my place has found me? Either way, I hope, by taking this path, I can help people find that space of their own, too. Be it through my music, or my battles.”